Fuujin
by Hangovergoblin
Summary: Book One of Four. Who knew the path to greatness lied in one's own death? Naruto's blood has an ancient secret, and with a rescued Sasuke by his side, can he use that secret to confront all that is evil in the world? Soon, everyone will know of the Fuujin
1. Chapter I

_Fuujin_

_**Book One**_

_**Chapter I**_

_Before you jump into this series, I'd like you to read my foreword. Jin has been an often-neglected series that I've been working on for the past two or three years. It's already been posted once, but I was sorely disappointed in the way I used to write, so I'm reposting this as a newly re-tooled version. Hopefully, you guys will fall in love with it. I remember when I first started this series, I was so happy with the way things turned out. Now I realize that the story is lacking… meat. And that needs to be fixed. Hopefully, I can re-write this thing and make it waaay better than it was originally. I'll be posting my disclaimer at the bottom, for those legal parasites out there. Thanks for taking the time to read this._

_-Hangovergoblin_

* * *

><p>"Sasuke..."<p>

A twelve year old blonde boy stood on the high edges of a massive lake, glaring at his best friend. The raven-haired boy, who stood on the other side shot the stare straight back. "You're a fool, for doing this," the blonde, Uzumaki Naruto, yelled. Sasuke merely shrugged. "Be that as it may, Naruto, I'm still leaving for Oto." The blonde's wilting glare intensified, and Sasuke was beginning to feel the heat on his face. The killing-intent that was coupled with it made him want to shiver. It wasn't like Orochimaru's, or even Kakashi's, but was still powerful for a genin.

The Uzumaki was growing visibly angrier. "You would trade _us_," he asked, pointing back to in Konoha's direction. "For power?" He ground his teeth with every syllable, and carefully pronounced every word, like they were his last. Naurto stepped forward, slowly, gingerly, onto the steep slope of the lake's edge. He was preparing to remove every bit of Sasuke's yearning for power. He would beat it out of him, with pure force. "Sasuke... I'm bringing you back. For Sakura's promise, my honor, and the village's sake."

Just as Naruto had stepped to the edge of the bank, Sasuke had, too. He knew what was coming. This was it, the paramount of his escape. The crushing defeat of his former-best friend, Uzumaki Naruto. The moment when Uchiha Sasuke would be the second heir of the Mangekyou Sharingan in four years. "-Even if I have to break your legs, Sasuke."

* * *

><p>Kakashi sped through the forest with Gai and Asuma in tow. They had to be quick about this, or people, <em>precious people<em>, may die. He would not be the sensei of a dead student, he told himself. _'My students will bury me, not the other way around.' _"Pakkun," Kakashi called. The small dog grunted in reply, but never missed a step. He was on the hunt for that blonde kid he had met at the Chuunin Exams. The boy was curious, in his book. He had never known a human to smell so peculiarly. Merely the lightest hints of brushfires, thuderstorms, and foxes hung around the child, so slight that it was hard for him, Pakkun the tracker, to pick up.

Kakashi and the others shot into a clearing before he as able to finish his order. The sight that met him was gruesome at best. The boy he knew as Chouji, an Akimichi, lie off to one side, as thin as some homeless beggar off the streets. 'But isn't he an Akimichi?' Kakashi thought. The Akimichi were portly. Fat, even, if you wanted to die. But it was no lie, the child looked like he had run three tri-athalons. However, in this case, everything came to light with the image of the boy's foe, smashed into little bits, and the small red half-capsule that was lying next to the Akimichi.

It was the third of the food-pills, something a normal shinobi couldn't even stomach. Each food pill delivered a massive caloric boost to an Akimichi, as well as tripling, even quadrupling their chakra. And this boy, Chouji, had taken all three. _'But doesn't the ingestion of all three pills mean death, like the celestial gates?' _He was happy that the boy was still alive, at any rate.

"Kakashi," Asuma called. "I've got him." He chucked the boy into a fireman's carry, and began to run back to Konoha. "Go ahead!" he shouted behind him. Kakashi glanced at Gai, who nodded. They both turned and ran to the next area of devastation. If this was the beginning, Kakashi and Gai both shuddered to think what would come next.

Tsunade was utterly aghast with shock when the first of the team she had sent to retrieve Sasuke had returned. He was little more than a bag of bones, with flaps of extra skin hanging limply, swinging in the wind. She recognized him immediately by the swirl marks of his cheeks. The boy was Akimichi Chouji, the fattest of the group, turned thinnest. He was covered in bruises, cuts, and scuff marks, and many an imprint shaped like a massive fist. She immediately called Shizune, who took the boy to the ICU. After a short talk with Asuma about what happened to the boy, she soon followed, and with the slam of a door and a faint green light emitting from under it, she began to heal him.

Asuma whistled low to himself and lit a cigarette. Brow furrowed, he turned toward the door, muttering, "God help you and Shikamaru, Chouji."

One by one, the remainders of the team entered the hospital over the course of twelve hours, each one as bad as the last. Some were conscious, like Kiba and Lee, while others were not. The only one that hadn't returned was the person Tsunade had _really _sent to retrieve Sasuke. She knew good and well that he would be the only one to do it. But now, things weren't looking so great. Each of the team had been seriously injured, save Lee, who had double teamed a Jounin-level by the name of Kaguya Kimmimaro, the last of the once-feared clan, with the help of Subaku no Gaara. Gaara, like Naruto, was a jinchuuriki, and held the Shukaku, a former wind-priest, who had assumed the form of a Demon-Tanuki. He had been sealed within Gaara while the boy was still in the womb, claiming the boy's mother's life.

Tsunade was thoroughly spent, and her assistant, Shizune wasn't faring much better. So many major operations in one night could have very well killed them from chakra exhaustion, and her hands were singed with burns, where she had forced too much at one time. And she would have slept, too, had it not been for the arrival of Jiraiya, who then demanded answers about the mission and Naruto.

"You sent them on an A-Class Mission?" he had shouted, fists clenched at his sides. Tsunade had merely shrugged and poured another round of Sake, to cool her nerves. "Yes," she had replied. "And now we're waiting on Naruto to return with Sasuke." She had slammed the shot back and swallowed, reveling in the burning sensation traveling down her throat. She then eyed Jiraiya wearily. "So please," Tsunade whispered, "Let me sleep. You aren't the only one who worries for him." Her eyes had closed in a bid to shoo Jiraiya away. When he had slammed the door, she smiled knowingly, and allowed herself to drift into sleep.

* * *

><p><em>A few hours earlier...<em>

"-Even if I have to break your legs, Sasuke."

Two twelve year-olds, one blonde and one brunette, stepped onto the surface of the lake, auras buzzing with chakra. Each took four steps toward each other, stopped, and readied themselves. They sized each other up, like they both had done in their mind's eye many times before. This was the moment a rivalry became more than it ever would be. This was the make or break moment, when their fates were decided. Would one die? Would they survive? Would they kill each other?

Sasuke's Sharingan eyes registered every movement Naruto made. Every twitch, every breath, every hair and piece of fabric that rustled with the wind. The boy's orange jumpsuit shone in the twilight of evening, just like the sky behind it. Sasuke brushed a hair out of his face, and settled into a taijutsu stance. He wouldn't underestimate Naruto this time. The boy was a powerhouse, capable of damage on a large scale. Even Sasuke couldn't do damage like that.

Naruto also dropped into a taijutsu stance, but his was sloppy. Undoubtedly from months without practice that had been focused on something else, whether it be that... _Thing_ made of chakra, the _Rasengan_, or whatever other jutsu the frog-guy had taught him. _"Should've practiced more, Naruto," _Sasuke thought smugly. _"You might've had a chance at surviving today." _

Then... Movement!

Naruto had moved forward at speeds Sasuke had never seen the boy capable of. In a mere flash, the blonde had covered more than half the distance between him and Sasuke. Before Sasuke could finish blinking from shock, Naruto's fist had landed a solid punch to the boy's gut, and had sent the Sharingan wielder flying back. Sasuke's eyes snapped wide open as he tried to recover, but Naruto was already in his face again, hands on his shoulders. He barely even had time to register the boy's knee, which had pulled back, and now barreled in toward Sasuke's chest. It slammed into its indended target, and Sasuke felt all of the air in his lungs force its way out. He wheezed in protest, but a tanned fist slammed into his mouth. Sasuke flew back, striking the Valley's wall with his side.

The raven-haired boy coughed up some blood, which leaked from the corners of his mouth. There was no way in hell Naruto could be that fast or that strong, without some divine intervention. Sasuke fell to his knees, and coughed up some more ruby-red liquid. He glanced from between the strands of his hair at his friend, who was crouched on the surface of the lake. Wind and chakra radiated out from him, licking up choppy little waves from the massive waterway. His canines had lengthened, and his eyes were still the same blue as ever, but his pupils had contracted into tiny slits.

"What... are you?" Sasuke coughed. "You can't be better than me." He righted himself, wobbling slightly on his legs. The Curse Mark on his shoulder expanded and radiated outwards, the black, flaming tattoo bleeding over his skin. _**"I won't let you," **_he shouted. Black chakra exploded around him as he shot toward his best friend. The two collided, red and black, and began the most fearsome taijutsu battle either had ever experienced or watched. Blows were traded but none would land. Always blocked, always dodged. They roared at each other in primal fury as they rolled over the lake, punching, kicking, biting with fangs.

This would have carried on for much longer, had it not been for a particularly vicious blow to Sasuke's chin, courtesy of Naruto's foot. The boy rocketed skyward, up and nearly out of the Valley. Naruto summoned a Kage Bunshin as he prepared for an attack as Sasuke, while in flight, had recovered, and was going through a quick set of hand seals. A Rasengan, an orb of destructive chakra used by the Yondaime, formed in Naruto's hand, and the sound of a thousand birds chirping filled the air.

Naruto turned his eyes skyward, setting the image of Sasuke with his chidori back into the depths of his mind. When he was old, he'd cherish the feeling that he was experiencing right now. He wasn't sure why he was so excited about the coming moment, when Rasengan and Chidori would meet in a clash of directed chakra. Maybe it was the surge of power he felt when he realized he was standing against '_The _Uchiha Sasuke.' or maybe it was the fact that he knew he would hold on to Sakura's promise.

He wasn't sure, but none of it mattered, as the beast neared the gates, as the hurricane neared the shore... As Sasuke neared Naruto. None of it mattered when the crackle of pure electrical energy met the swirl of a typhoon, nor when the chakra exploded around each other. No. It didn't even matter when the world faded to black, and Naruto knew he had failed.

Uchiha Sasuke gathered himself, aching head and all, as he pulled himself from the lake's watery grasp. He coughed and sputtered all the blood and water that had accumulated in his throat and mouth on the shore, covering small rocks and mud with a slight-red hue. He turned back and looked over the surface, catching a small glimpse of orange out on the lake. He had done it, killed his best friend, for power. His chest swelled up with pride at his accomplishment, but a wave of bile swept from his stomach up into his mouth. He had _killed_ his best friend. The only one who had shown him true kindness in his life after the massacre. Sasuke was not one to cry. Not anymore. But he couldn't help the small tears that escaped the sides of his eyes as he yanked himself from the bank and up the Valley's steep wall. _"Was it really worth it?"_ His answer came when he focused his eyes, remembering the old legends. He activated the Sharingan and searched for something, right behind his eyes. Another small pouch of chakra, along with the normal Sharingan chakra pouch, had formed. He tapped into it, and before his very eyes, the world slowed to a crawl.

This was it. He had acquired the cursed Mangekyou, the Kaleidoscope Mirror-Wheel. But he couldn't help the hole in his heart, which had grown icy over the past few minutes. His stomach was a knot, his eyes leaked fresh tears, and he constantly had to fight wave after wave of bile. He was not a killer. Well, in the traditional murderer type, anyway. Itachi could handle what it meant to have the Mangekyou, but only because he had no emotions, something else he had killed off in ANBU.

But Sasuke...

As he dragged himself from the Valley of The End's edge, he set an agonizingly fast pace toward Oto. If he could make it there, perhaps Orochimaru could offer some solace, if any.

* * *

><p>"Guah..."<p>

Naruto held his head as he took in his surroundings. Concrete, circular walls, leaky pipes of assorted colors, and a fresh coat of moss and mold on the floor. Doors lined the halls with labels like 'Hopes', 'Dreams', and 'Fears.' "Great. Back in my mind..." He walked toward a small door at the end of the hall, where a glowing, ominously red light shown out from under its bottom. A menacing growl was heard from the behind it. This was where his tenant and prisoner lived. The Kyuubi no Kitsune, lord of Foxes and king of Youkai lived just behind the small, white door.

He opened the door, stepped through, and closed it behind him. In front of him was a great cage, stretching toward the endless abyss above him. The room had a dome-like structure with an opening at the top, much like Roman architecture, where a great blackness radiated out. All the pipes that ran through his mind exited here, so he could only guess it was the first of the eight Celestial Gates.

But something else was here. A light, whispy voice, carrying phrases in a language he couldn't quite grasp, but understood perfectly. It spoke of the wind, and all it could do. He glanced around, and saw no body to go with the voice. "How odd..." he said.

**"You ain't kidding, brat. This bastard arrived here a few moments ago, and hasn't shut up since." **

Naruto's eyes shot up a few hundred feet, and he found the scarlet, slitted eyes of Kyuubi staring back at him. They were scrunched up in what Naruto guessed to be annoyance, but you never really can tell with foxes, considering the fact that they _are_ animals. So he asked a legitimate question of the fox with near-limitless power. "Don't you have like... a human form?" He cocked his head to the side like a dog who's heard a curious sound. The fox looked at him like he was insane. However, with the incessant gabbing it was hearing out of the voice that called itself 'Kaze', it could do little to argue with the boy. The Kyuubi's eyes lowered and shrunk to a decent level, which, in Naruto's own book, was just a bit taller than himself.

A large, muscular man stepped out of the shadows of the cage and approached the bars. His eyes were a dark crimson color, like freshly-spilled blood. He was dressed in a dark purple robe that reached his ankles. Nine tails swished back and forth behind him, like malevolent banners proclaiming his title of, 'King of the Demon Beasts'.

**"I take it you're here because you're near death."** The beast gave a short, clipped laugh. **"Bleeding out, floating on the surface of a lake, face down… Who would have thought we'd meet our end like that?"** He crossed his arms and regarded Naruto. **"How do you feel about that, meatsack?"**

Naruto returned the Kyuubi's stare with one that had equal amounts of authority. He was the demon fox's jailor, his keeper, and his host. He was only 12, but he knew exactly what type of position he was in. He needed leverage.

"This won't be the end, and we both know that. Stop acting like an arrogant prick for once and realize we're in real danger here."

He touched his chest with his hand. "I'm the one bleeding out, but if I die, you die. And we both know you have enough chakra to heal any wound I have, short of being beheaded." Naruto was growing heated. Talking to the Kyuubi always made his hackles rise. The beast was such an asshole. Leave it to the King of Demons to have no sense of humility at all. And what the _fuck _was that voice saying in his ears?

Naruto shook his head violently, as if trying to rid it of some kind of insect, causing the Kyuubi to laugh again.

"**It looks like you've met my new cell-mate. How wonderful."**

Naruto paused and looked the Kyuubi in the eye. "Cell-mate?" he asked, arching his eyebrow. "What does that mean?" He looked around momentarily before resting his eyes on the fox again. "Who's here with us?"

The fox began to pace, ignoring the boy's question momentarily. Those dark, malevolent eyes roved around the cage, as if trying to find a way to say something. He, the great destroyer of men, was at a loss for words.

"Well?" Naruto asked, hands on his hips.

"**There is something inside of you, boy."** The man-fox spat the last word out contemptuously.** "Something ancient… As ancient as I am. This, I must add, is really saying something."** His tails flicked randomly, as if agitated by his thoughts.** "This thing… is not foreign to your body, as I am. This is something that has been inside of you from day one. Something I must have overlooked, although I don't quite understand how I couldn't have seen something so important."**

Naruto was growing impatient, and it showed on his face.

"Will you tell me what the fuck you're talking about?" he yelled.

The Kyuubi's tails lashed the bars of the cage, causing the boy to shrink back. The Kyuubi was his prisoner, but that didn't mean he had no fear at all reserved for the monstrous beast. The King of Demons had nearly destroyed one of the five great ninja villages in a single night. That was a fearsome power to behold.

"**Enough!" **

The beast pointed with one clawed hand at the ceiling. **"Do you not hear that voice? Do you not understand what it means? What it's saying to you, boy? You really are as dense as I had always thought. Shut your mouth, you worthless meatsack, and listen!" **

Naruto did as he was told and really _listened _to the voice for the first time since he arrived. It was no longer an incessant humming, but a steady, even tempo with a faint lilting quality to it. As hard as he tried, though, he could only make out a single word. _'Wind,' _it had said. The voice was long and drawn out, and would flutter in volume.

"What does that mean? Wind?" he asked of the great caged beast.

The beast, who had calmed down from his previous state, sighed.

**"It is an ancient voice, an early manifestation of the… madness to come. Boy, you were marked to be different from the very moment you were born. You were different from the rest because of something that was already lurking in the shadows of your gene pool, not just because of me. Though, I must say, you probably owe it to me that you even discovered this ancient secret in the first place. Without my subtle manipulation of your body, or the extra chakra in your coils, you might have gone your entire life with this thing being dormant. But now it has awakened, and you must reap what your ancestors had sewn. A very… beneficial harvest, I'll add."**

Naruto's head cocked to the side in confusion and the Demon King deflated in mock-defeat.

"**You, boy,"** the monster continued, **"are of an ancient race known as the Jin. Separate from humans, but not separate enough for your kind and theirs to not interbreed. My presence and your genes created a sort of 'perfect storm' that caused you to actually manifest your blood's secret. Welcome to the Kekkei Genkai club, boy."**

"Whoa…," Naruto started as he moved closer to the cage. He imagined a seat in his dreamscape, and one appeared underneath him as he sat down. One of the benefits of being inside one's own mind is the ability to change its landscape at will. As he took his seat, the Kyuubi turned his back to the boy. The monster's tails flicked once, and a great rushing noise filled the cavern they were in as a set of immense bookshelves were summoned to the front of the cage. This, Naruto presumed, was the vast stores of knowledge the Kyuubi had as the King of the Beasts.

The red-eyed man selected a large, dusty volume from the shelf. It was bound in beautiful smooth leather, and had hinges attached to its spine made of polished brass. He beckoned Naruto closer to the cage and relinquished the tome to the boy. Naruto returned to his seat and opened the great book in his lap.

**"What you're looking at,"** said the Kyuubi, **"is an ancient volume of history I had my progeny create for me when the world was young. We foxes are not known for our intellectual pursuits… We are more typecast as the most cunning of animals. This is not the case, though. Foxes once, and still are, great keepers of knowledge. This particular volume is dedicated to the Jin, a sub-group of humanity that you belong to."**

_"The Jin are a race of men who hail from the southernmost regions of the continent. They have spread out amongst the other groups in humanity, but have distinct qualities that stratify them from the other groups of men. Jin are elementalists: beings that have control (in varying degrees) of certain elements in nature. The Jin are further stratified in their own race by their elemental abilities. Each Jin is born with an affinity that has been passed down from their father's side. Unfortunately, some Jin cannot use their affinity; they are often forced into subservience by those who have control. The control of a Jin's particular element can be trained to the point of god-like feats. The feats a Jin can perform can range anywhere from turning rain into mist or moving entire mountain ranges (such things have been recorded by the foxes). In recent years, the population of pureblood jin have diminished slowly, and continue on a steady rate of decline._

"… What the fuck? You expect me to believe this shit?"

The Kyuubi's head jerked back sharply as the words entered his sensitive ears. He was dumbfounded by the boy's stupidity. His initial shock morphed into annoyance, and from there into anger. That anger began to boil, and the red chakra that constituted his body began to boil along with it. This all happened within a few moments of Naruto's outburst, and the rage that had begun to boil suddenly made itself known… violently.

**"Are you retarded or something? What the hell is the matter with you, you stupid fucking kid? If any of my progeny showed even the slightest hint of your level of stupidity, I would have them culled from the den! And by culled, I mean fucking executed! You worthless sack of flesh! You've been given one of the greatest gifts you could ever imagine, and you didn't even have to earn it! It's right fucking there on the page, you sack of shit! Be grateful that your parents left you with something that wasn't malevolent and destructive, you fool!"**

The great beast had lost all control during his tirade, and had morphed back into his fox form. His immense maw gaped wide with fury as his breaths came out in titanic rushes of air.

**"You're such a fool sometimes, boy! For once in your life, show some maturity!" **

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off by the Kyuubi.

**"This is one of the most important events in the history of your world, child. You have a chance to resurrect a power that could trump any shinobi that walks the earth, but you choose to be a fool about it! What the hell is the matter with you?"**

Naruto waited for the beast to calm down, and then he deadpanned the monster. "I have a sense of humor."

The beast drew in one final gulp of air, and then his head jerked back for a second time.

_**"What?"**_

Naruto closed the book and laid it at the foot of the beast's cage. "It was a joke." He looked up at the monster in the cage before him and smiled. "Next time you decide to go mental, let me know so I can leave." He folded his arms across his chest. "Now heal me, and show me what to do to get this Kekkei Genkai running. I've got an asshole to go catch."

**"You arrogant son of a who-"**

The great beast, the Kyuubi no Yoko, King of Demons, and prisoner of a twelve year old boy was cut off as the teen's mind went black, and we has transported through his mindscape to the waking world.

* * *

><p>Sasuke ripped through Rice country like a madman, taking no heed of the condition his body was in. The further he got from his surrogate brother's corpse, the better he thought he would feel. Well, as his own witness, he would personally tell you he was in no better shape than when he had started out of the Valley. He was still experiencing waves of nausea, and his sharingan eyes had recorded, in perfect detail, the image of Naruto, floating on the surface of the lake, facedown and leaking blood. Tears were still prevalent on his Sasuke's face, and he scolded himself for being such a pathetic loser. Uchiha men didn't cry. They steeled themselves against any emotion that would cripple them in battle. There was only hate and anger for the Uchiha in the thick of a fight. No regret, no sadness, no grief.<p>

But Sasuke _did _feel those emotions.

Maybe what his brother said was right. Maybe he really was too weak to kill Itachi. But that was why he had killed Naruto in the first place, wasn't it? He had the Mangekyou Sharingan now, so what was holding him back?

Did he really need Orochimaru now? Now that he had achieved the greatest feat an Uchiha could ever hope to accomplish… now that he had unlocked the sacred Mangekyou Sharingan, did he really need anyone else besides himself? There was one person he could think of that might have been able to help him now that he had the prize, but that Kakashi would be sure to turn his back on the boy after he had killed Naruto.

"_Don't say his name," _Sasuke thought to himself, bringing on a wave of fresh tears. What had he done? Is this the sort of monster he wanted to be?

As he passed through a glade, he was almost sure he caught a glimpse of orange to his side. Seeing nothing, he shook his head and continued at a breakneck pace. He had even deactivated his Sharingan to conserve every last bit of energy for the remainder of the trip. Had he still had it activated, he could've picked out the small, almost imperceptible hints around him that Naruto was still alive. He could've also avoided jumping through the last small thatch of forest lining Rice's border.

But he didn't, and as his face lit up with joy at the fact that he was only several leaps from Oto, something caught his wrist and yanked it with incredible force. He fell, face first, through the trees, and on his descent, blinding pain followed his every move. He was being accosted, without even seeing his foe. Crack! As he activated his sharingan for the final time that day, he caught an after-image, something that had long been negated by the effects of his Kekkei Genkai. The image was of a blonde boy, with deep blue eyes, and an orange jumpsuit.

He landed back first on the pine needles lining the forest floor, and as he feebly raised his head through the pain, he realized that one of his legs was twisted behind him, and his right arm was snapped at the wrist. A faint crunching sound became louder to his side, and as he turned, he saw the boy he had just killed. He wondered briefly in his slight hysteria, that maybe he was seeing a ghost. But ghosts couldn't lift a person's leg. His sharingan met ocean-blue eyes, with four black triangles whirling within them.

"Naru-"

He interrupted himself when a brutal roar of pain ripped from his throat. It was a horrible, heart-wrenching cry of complete agony, which was born on the wings of the blonde before him, who had just snapped his other leg right before his very eyes. Sasuke's eyes poured tears of anguish, like he had never cried before. He would've continued, too, had the blonde not shifted in front of him. He was now kneeling beside Sasuke, staring the raven-haired boy down with those horrible, beautiful eyes.

"I told you, Sasuke, that even if I had to break both your legs, I'd bring you back."

Uzumaki Naruto punched Uchiha Sasuke squarely in the forehead, brutally forcing unconsciousness on the raven-haired boy, right on Oto no Kuni's doorstep. Naruto hauled Sasuke up by his shirt collar, and threw him into a fireman's carry. "I won't drop you," he whispered. A blink's worth of time later, all which remained of the two was a slight whispering in the air, one that was neither Naruto's, nor Sasuke's.


	2. Chapter II

_Fuujin_

_Chapter II_

_Before you dive into the chapter, thank you for the reviews and whatnot. I'd like to take a moment to say a few things about my views on fan fiction, particularly in the Naruto section. I appreciate the fact that people like to write. I really do. But some of the stuff I see on here is lacking in structure, spelling and grammar. It really, really burns me up to see people ignoring the rules and guidelines in that they totally go against the clause about those things. I don't mind that people write high school fics, or vampire dramas, or alternate universes that have nothing to do with Naruto, but please, for the love of god, go over what you write. Some of this stuff doesn't even pass third grade standards, and that bothers the hell out of me. Anyway… thank you again for taking the time to read my rant. –Hangovergoblin_

* * *

><p>Naruto cursed heavily at the bundle behind him. It had been the constant source of his sour mood and exhaustion for the past two days.<p>

The day itself was very beautiful, especially on the road they were on. Naruto had stumbled on an old ninja path as he had been carrying Sasuke along. Nearly exhausted, he had had dropped Sasuke like a bad habit, and had proceeded to drag his teammate along behind him. That aside, the path was one of those rare, scenic types, with all manner of flowers growing along the sides, Naruto had even seen some azaleas a mile or two back. With all it's beauty, this was not the kind of path you'd expect to see a pair of dirty, bloodied shinobi, one of which was being drug like a sack behind the other.

Speaking of the bundle, Naruto had to say, it looked like crap. Cuts and bruises lined Sasuke's body, as if he'd been run through a gutter _and_ a garbage disposal. Small cuts and scrapes had tattered the boy's clothing, and he was also bleeding quite a bit. Nothing too serious, though. Just superficial wounds that tended to seep blood.

Naruto took a look behind him, noting the damage he had caused as well. Sasuke's limbs pointed in different directions and odd angles, and little spikes of bone pierced the skin at his knees and his left forearm where they had been snapped. Naruto's eyes moved upward, and he was startled to see a pair of murderous onyx eyes glaring back at him. Naruto hmph-ed and turned back to the road. He couldn't help muttering a 'You deserved it.' under his breath, even if it was a little childish.

But even with what he assumed was a proverbial noose around his neck for actually harming the Uchiha on the mission, Naruto couldn't help but be beside himself with joy. He had just completed his own little mission, separate from the original. He had fulfilled his promise of a lifetime to Sakura! Naruto smiled happily to himself, despite the fact that he knew that even if he had come through with his promise, Sakura would still run to Sasuke when they entered the gates, and begin to gush over the broken boy. Even Kakashi would bypass him and _maybe_ offer him a muttered 'Thanks,' and take the Uchiha to the hospital as fast as he could.

And surprisingly enough, Naruto really didn't mind. He wasn't sure where his little change of heart had come from, but now, Sakura seemed like some unattainable supermodel, that only the genius or the movie-star would get. All he could hope for was that both her and Kakashi would someday realize how much wrong they had done him, and apologize for the way he had been treated.

A frown replaced the large grin on Naruto's face. How _would _they treat him after this? "Like the same old dependable Naruto?" he asked himself. Would he be the same person who was hardly cared for until needed? Naruto shook his head. 'No,' his voice angrily bounced around the confines of his mind. 'I won't let them,' he thought. The blonde smirked haughtily. 'Even if I don't become Hokage, they'll still see me as more than that. The whole world will see me for what I'll become! The greatest shinobi in the Elemental Nations!'

Naruto held an outstretched hand in front of him, sucking air into his palm and swirling it around. He closed his hand, and the wind rushed out with an audible whoosh. He couldn't believe that he had been given such a gift. When someone said 'Kekkei Genkai', Naruto immediately thought of prestigious clans with long, distinguished bloodlines. Not an under-appreciated twelve year old who lived in a shitty, rundown apartment.

"What are you, Dobe?"

Naruto yelped as if he'd just been on the receiving end of Kakashi's signature 'Thousand Years of Pain.' He turned to see that the same murderous glare was still piercing him. He had totally forgotten the boy was awake behind him. Naruto returned the glare in earnest to his prodigal teammate, who, even though he was doing quite well to mask his agony, was still wincing in pain every few seconds. Naruto had also forgotten that the boy was fractured in several places. Maybe dragging him along wasn't such a nice thing to do. Naruto, however, remembered the absolute hell he and his friends had been put through to save the bastard. The blonde genin mentally shrugged. 'Oh well...'

"I asked you a question, dead-last, so answer it."

In an amazing show of constraint, Naruto merely turned around and clenched his eyelids shut. He could already feel the anger and frustration form the previous day's fight beginning to bubble up, although at a lesser extent. He was having trouble believing the Uchiha had the ire to demand things of him, even in his ragged state. Honestly, what gave him control of the whole goddamned world? Naruto's head snapped back and he increased the deathglare ten-fold, even going so far as to enhance it with killing-intent. "You are the last person to be making demands, Sasuke," he said.

Sasuke's mouth clamped shut and his eyes widened. His own question was starting to burn an awful hole in the image of what he thought was just a dead-last punk. He was starting to conceive a Naruto who was much more powerful than everyone first thought. The wind manipulation, the red chakra? What exactly was Naruto now?

The Uchiha's good eye twitched in annoyance. The other was swollen shut, and still ached from the brutal punch it had endured. And on top of all of that, the blonde in front of him was starting to give him a killer headache. Even in his injured state, Sasuke was racking his brain for something, anything that would give him a hint. Anything that would let him see through the mask and perpetual mystery Naruto had hidden himself behind.

"Do you really want to know?"

* * *

><p>Haruno Sakura bit her lip nervously. Her hair was still wet from her shower only minutes before, and her poorly pressed dress was wrinkled beyond all belief. The bags under her eyes revealed a serious case of insomnia, and her face lacked any of the customary makeup that she usually wore. She was sure that if Ino had seen her, the blonde would have dragged her back through the streets, up the stairs of her apartment building, into the apartment itself, and done all the primping to Sakura herself.<p>

But honestly, makeup or clothes didn't matter at all right now, nor did Ino's distaste for the unkempt, or even Kakashi's perpetual tardiness. The daily worries that would've consumed her very being only days before had been worn to dust. They were merely contrivances of the capable. Sakura scowled. It had seemed that she had only been capable of worry and lonely anguish these past few days. She had sat, waiting on the same park bench Sasuke had left her on two nights before. She rarely ever left, save for a shower or to eat, which she practiced as seldom as she could get away with. She never would've thought she was this devoted to Sasuke and Naruto... Or was it Naruto and Sasuke?

Hell, she wasn't even sure of her feelings anymore. It was odd how things could shift and twist in the course of two days, especially concerning her two teammates. Even then, though, it was the things concerning Naruto that caused something in her to stir.

Sakura's eyes teared up. When she had asked him to go get Sasuke, he had smiled, brilliant blue eyes reflecting her own sad reflection back at her. Naruto had held a proud fist over his heart, exclaiming, "It's a promise of a lifetime!" He had turned and left, taking with him something she had devoted solely to Sasuke. Uzumaki Naruto had taken a piece of her heart; something she wasn't even sure she wanted back.

From that point on, she had constantly asked herself 'Why?"She had devoted much of her last two or three years to make the Uchiha happy, so why was she having feelings for the blond idiot? Why did she have to subject herself to things like this? It made no sense whatsoever, and it only made things harder on her. Sakura sighed heavily, resting her head in the heels of her palms. A lone tear escaped her eye as she thought of the harm that could befall the two boys on the mission, as well as the damage they could do to each other, be it emotional or physical. A macabre image of Sasuke's arm piercing Naruto's heart and the blonde's hand engulfed in Sasuke's gut sped before her eyes. A fresh wave of tears streamed from her eyes, down her face, and into her lap.

"This is my entire fault," she muttered quietly to herself.

* * *

><p>"It's hard to say, Sasuke," Naruto replied. "I don't even know what else it can do, much less how I awakened it."<p>

The blonde was still dragging the Uchiha steadily towards Konoha, if only very slowly. It had already taken a full ten miles to explain the Fuujin to Sasuke. And although he would never acknowledge it, Sasuke was still confused as hell. "So," he began, "You can control the wind?" Naruto nodded. "Yeah," he said, "But only on a small scale. Like now, I can enhance my speed, and do minimal amounts of manipulation. But the more I work at it, the more I'll be able to control at one time!" He smiled cheerfully at Sasuke, who narrowed his eyes in response.

Secretly, within Sasuke's psyche, a battle was raging. His mind was torn, for once, about how he should act. His angry, jealous, petty side was demanding him to hate Naruto for how much power was being handed to him, and for saving him from the fate of being a snake's next skin. But the other part, the old Sasuke of yester-year, wanted nothing more than to thank the blonde for all that he had done for him. The old Sasuke wanted to thank him for forcing him back and for allowing him a second chance, even after Sasuke had tried to kill the boy.

Decisions, decisions...

Sasuke groaned as they went over a particularly large bump, smacking his head and making his bones scrape against each other. The pain was intense, but nothing he couldn't handle. "How much longer?" he whined uncharacteristically. The blonde ahead of him smirked. "A couple more miles. Then we'll be at the gates, and Kakashi can take you to the Emergency room," he said, rolling his eyes. Sasuke was so pampered, it made him sick sometimes.

"You know, Sasuke," he began, "You're lucky I'm such a good friend. If it had been any of the others, they might've killed you for being such an ass." Naruto chuckled dryly. "And we can't have that, can we?" He frowned as another emotion welled up in him. Jealousy. What made everyone care for Sasuke so much, and Naruto, so little? What was so special about the arrogant little prick- _'No, I won't think that,'_ Naruto said to himself. _'Jealousy is what made Sasuke run in the first place. That and hatred.' _

He peered back over his shoulder. Sasuke was staring off to one side, apparently deep in thought. Naruto could see the gears turning in that duck's ass of a head. He shook his own head and turned back to the road. Konoha was a little less than half a mile from where they were. Time to move just a bit faster. Naruto stooped over and picked Sasuke up from the ground, and concentrated on his eyes. Three little triangles appeared on the rim, and swept in at an angle toward the pupil, almost like a sail being blown in the wind.

Naruto leaned forward a little, and the wind picked up behind them. It soon strengthened to a gale-force gust, and began to push them toward Konoha as fast as they could've run, had they been uninjured and fresh.

"Oh! You must be that Sakura girl Naruto wants to bang!"

Sakura was taken aback. There was no way she had just heard that. "Excuse me?" she asked, looking up at the man who had just addressed her. Her eyes widened considerably. The man was a giant. Easily six and a half feet tall, he was an imposing figure. She realized with a start that this was the man Naruto always called "Ero-Sennin," Jiraiya of the Legendary Three.

"I said," Jiraiya grinned cheekily, "that you're the chick Naruto wants to get busy with!"

Her wide eyes narrowed very quickly into an evil leer. Keeping her eyes locked for maximum enjoyment of the pain to come, her leg lashed out, catching the poor sannin between the legs. He fell to the ground twitching, amongst tiny whispers of 'Ouch.' It was all he could muster after the vicious blow. Sakura glared at him without mercy. "Pervert," she said, shaking her head. "Get a job, pal."

Groaning, Jiraiya stood. "I just figured you'd like to see him return. That's all." Wincing, he added, "He's almost at the gate." 'Man,' he thought. 'That girl can dish out some serious pain. Tsunade might need to look into recruiting her.' Shaking his head, he gathered himself. "So are you going?" The girl, whose eyes had started to water, nodded furiously. She was afraid if she spoke, she'd burst into tears, so she held her tongue.

"Alright then," Jiraiya said, fully straightened up. "Let's go then. He should be arriving in about five or six minutes."

He smiled cheerily at the girl. He could understand why Naruto liked her so much. He had the same crush on Tsunade when they were younger, too. But based on how that one had turned out, he'd remain neutral. Hearts were easily broken. People had often wondered why he had never settled down and never stopped womanizing. His heart had never really healed after Tsunade.

As he and Sakura walked along, he frowned slightly at the painful memories his thoughts had dredged up. He had never truly understood why their relationship never worked out. They were equals, both in their prime. Both had common bonds, and both followed the shinobi way. Jiraiya had never done anything to scare her away, nor had

"Ah," he said, smiling widely at the silhouette of a pair of teens approaching the outer gate. The sun obscured most about them, because it was setting behind them. 'Quite the poetic scene,' Jiraiya thought with a grin. He was looking forward to seeing the Uchiha put in his place, especially by his own student. Funny that it was Sasuke who Orochimaru had set his sights on, and Naruto was the one he was training. Best friends, like he and Orochimaru had been, but not quite torn apart as they were when the final showdown had ended.

The first figure grunted heavily as he made the last step into the gate, and promptly collapsed, while the second, who was prone, winced painfully and sighed.

Jiraiya's mouth split into the biggest grin he had ever managed. Even bigger than when Tsunade had finally went on that first date with him. His student was home, and had completed his first A-Rank mission.

Sakura broke out into a run as she neared her teammates, worry and concern etched into her pink-framed face. Kakashi soon appeared beside them, too, casting a wary eye toward Naruto for some odd reason. "So they're back..." Jiraiya turned his head to find Nara Shikaku standing beside him, hands thrust deeply into his pockets. "'Bout time, too. Shikamaru was beginning to worry for Naruto's safety." The elder Nara smirked. "I even heard Ino prattling on about the both of them." He nodded his head toward Naruto and Sasuke. Jiraiya 'hmphed.' "Apparently Sakura was more than a little worried for their safety, too," the white haired man said. "She was practically a nervous wreck on that bench of hers."

"Anyway... Tsunade requests your presence, Jiraiya-sama." Shikaku elbowed Jiraiya softly. "Hey," the Nara whispered. "When's the next volume due?"

Jiraiya smirked haughtily. "Like I'd tell the likes of you." And to further screw with Shikaku, he quoted a certain pink-haired kunoichi. "Get a job, pal."

Laughing maliciously as he walked off, he left a dejected Shikaku standing by the street corner, crying. But even as he laughed, he noticed a small, dark form hiding in the shade of the trees. The figure was obviously unconcerned with their conversation; whoever it was had their undivided attention centered on Naruto, Sasuke, and the others. Jiraiya wasn't a stupid person. He could tell exactly who this was by their chakra signature. This was the same person who had spied on Naruto's training for the duration of the month before the third exam.

_Hyuuga Hinata_

Apparently, she had quite the crush on Naruto. From what he could tell, she watched his every move, like some perverted voyeur. Jiraiya sneezed heavily for a moment. 'Someone must be talking about me...,' he thought. Throwing a shifty gaze around to make sure no-one had seen such a dignified, handsome man sneeze, he continued on toward Tsunade's office, forgetting completely about the small girl he had left to spy on his apprentice.

* * *

><p>"Ah. Here again..." Naruto was once again confined to the inside of his mind. "Note to self, find a good carpeter and reupholster the interior." Chuckling as he walked to the end of the hall where the Kyuubi resided, he was greeted with an impossibly loud yell of <strong>"Shut up, you infernal imp!"<strong>His eyebrows shot toward his hairline. He had never heard the beast speak like that. Sure, it had threatened to rip his entrails through his eyes and use them as reigns to ride his damned soul into Hades below on several occasions. Opening the door, Naruto was greeted with a humorous sight.

The Kyuubi was lying on the floor, using its tails and paws to cover its ears, as a small orb of white light floated around, jabbering incessantly about unimportant things. _"And that's when I decided to be called Aeolus..." _He heard what could only be described as a playfully insane chuckle emit from the ball. _"Oh!" _It exclaimed. _"Did you hear the one about the priest?" _Naruto decided this was the time to try and interject. The Kyuubi was probably near it's sanity point, anyway. "Ummm... Hi."

The orb stopped midsentence and 'turned' to the boy who had just appeared. _"Ah! So the master is here!" _The ball floated quickly toward him, and stopped an inch or two from his nose. Naruto shrunk back from the thing's abrasive behavior. He could understand why the Kyuubi was complaining.

_"About time, Naruto-sama. I've been waiting, quite literally, I might add, forever!" _An ethereal grin split the orb's faceless surface, and a pair of unblinking eyes appeared a moment later. This thing was quite the curious being. Like insanity rolled into a little ball, with more than enough manic happiness to supply the bipolar people in the world.

"Forever, you said?"

The small orb bounced in the air with a disconcerting nod. _"Yes! It's been so long since I've been manifested in a human! Millenia have passed! I wish to see the world through human eyes once again!" _The ball's mouth opened wider. _"I can't even begin to describe how positively belated I was to find that The Jin had reappeared in the world! It meant that I could have freedom!" _

Naruto smiled, if slightly strained, and said, "Well... I'm happy for you..."

The blonde boy jumped when something invisible grabbed his hand and shook it heartily. _"Thank you! Thank you!" _Naruto nodded frantically in hopes that the thing would get the hint and leave his hand be. Luckily, he stopped the thing with his next question. "But who," he glanced at Kyuubi, who still was covering it's ears, "And what are you?" The unblinking eyes slanted in a frown. _"You don't know?" _At the shake of Naruto's head, he cocked his own to the side. _"Curious... Anywho, As you must know, you are a Jin. That must have been quite the surprise." _He didn't even give Naruto time to say or do anything. He continued on. _"Since knowledge has completely dropped from this world about the Jin. save for a legend here or there, I must educate you on everything you must know. That includes the drawbacks." _That manic grin returned. _"First of all, when you activate the... What's it called... Ah! Doujutsu, your ability to use anything but Wind manipulation and jutsu are reduced greatly. Anyway... My name is... Kaze. Simple as that. I've been called a great deal of names, and so have my brethren. But since the Jin originated here in the Elemental Nations, we go by what we were originally designated as by the Old Ones." _

"Old Ones?" Naruto asked, thoroughly interested in this thing's story.

_"Hai, the old ones. Progenitors of all life here on this world.. But we, nor the Jin, were the only creations the Old Ones designed. The Bijuu and Yajuu were also created."_

"The Yajuu? Who are they?" Naruto asked. His eyes were scrunched together as he tried to make sense of what the little orb was saying.

It was at that moment, that the Kyuubi chose to interject into the history lesson. **"Infernal Beasts... Much like us. They were created at the same time as the Bijuu, but while we were the manifestation of bestial wrath, they were the Hounds of the Old Ones. Beasts that could match our power in combat, and had insane amounts of Youki, like us." **The beast let out a low growl. **"The Old Ones regarded them as the most beautiful of beasts. The Phoenix, The Dragon, The Lion... They loved the Yajuu very dearly. But as the Yajuu gained favor with the Old Ones, we were left to our own devices."**

Naruto cocked his head to the side. "What did the tailed beasts do?"

The Kyuubi grinned it's most deviously tricksterish grin yet. **"We went on a rampage. Stomping around like kings, leveling mountains, creating tsunamis, we kept humanity and the Jin on their toes. We were having a grand old time while we did whatever we pleased. Humanity and Jin alike bowed to us in awe of our power. They never even knew the Old Ones or the Yajuu existed, until we let a select few mortals in on the secret. Those mortals were angry, and cried out against the Old Ones. Unfortunately, the Old Ones didn't give a rat's ass. They had their servants, the Yajuu, at their beck and call. That was to be their downfall, though."**

**"They were foolish to believe that the Yajuu were happy with their station. It is inherent in all beings, Human or not, to want freedom."**The Kyuubi shook it's head wearily. **"The Yajuu partnered with us, and we killed the Old Ones, but not before the Old Ones got their own little piece of revenge. They sealed the Nine Yajuu into inaminate objects with a seal much like the one that imprisons me. Their seal was much more powerful, though. After they had sealed the Yajuu, the remainder of us ripped them to shreds."**The Beast behind the bars chuckled heartily as he reminisced. **"It was **_**quite**_**satisfying." **The Kyuubi shrugged as only a fox can. **"So the world was left to its own devices. Life, in general, found its niche, and continued on. But there were those of us who had yet to find our place. Take for instance, the Jin themselves. Powerful warriors, but as they died and intermingled with the human population, they lost their ability to manipulate on a large scale. Before the assimilation, a powerful Jin could move a mountain, or part the sea. Afterward, they'd be lucky to pull a whole lake from its banks. That's how humans can find their affinity and manipulate on small scales. You all still have a tiny fraction of Jin blood in your veins."**

_"Which brings us full circle, back to _you_**, **__Naruto," _Kaze said. _"Your prisoner has yet to find out why the Jin's ability has manifested itself, and even more peculiarly, in you. I myself could not tell you. I am merely the manifestation of your new... Ability. All Jin had something akin to me floating around in their minds. It's what made them what they were."_

Naruto flopped to the ground. It was almost too much to take in. He had just received a History of the World, Mel Brooks style, and he wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Jin, Yajuu, the Old Ones? It was enough to make him a little crazy, which was saying alot. And this... Freak of a ball of wind was a little too manic for his tastes. The thing was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. _"And just to let you know," _it said, _"We're gonna be having a lot of time together... I'm as much a part of your mental state as fuzzy-wuzzy over there." _The grin nearly split Kaze's face. _"I get to talk to you whenever I want!"_

Naruto groaned.

* * *

><p>"Ugh..."<p>

The blond boy held his head as he slowly came to in a familiar place. Sterile smell, sterile white walls... Sterile food. Yup. This was the last place he wanted to be. The hospital. He was a little miffed that Jiraiya hadn't just taken him back to his apartment. Naruto shrugged. "Guess you can't always get what you want." He frowned as he looked down at his body. All the scrapes, burns, contusions, bruises, and lacerations had been replaced with something far more horrible: the classic white hospital smock. Grumbling heavily, he went to the bedside drawers that were ever present in the whitewashed room, he pulled out what remained of his orange jumpsuit. There was a note from Jiraiya attached haphazardly to what used to be the collar. 'Sorry, Kid. Tsunade refused to have it burned in decontamination. So they stuck it here. Check one drawer below- Jiraiya-sama.'

Naruto chuckled. Now that was a laugh... Lord Jiraiya. "As if," he muttered to himself. Pulling out what was to be his new (or temporary) outfit, he discovered the old pervert hadn't given him some type of ridiculously outlandish outfit he himself wore, but something altogether more to his tastes. The first (and most peculiar) of the gear was a standard set of Anbu armor, tailored to fit his size. Attached to it was yet another note. 'Trust me, Kid. You're gonna need it.' The blond sighed. Why was his sensei the one with the horrible sense of fashion? Or, Naruto surmised, maybe it was he who had the ridiculous sense of fashion, considering his fanatical obsession with orange. He shrugged. He didn't particularly care if he was painting the proverbial bullseye on his backside. He liked orange.

The next piece of clothing was a black longsleeved shirt. Nothing too special about it. A pair of pants came with it, the same color, with orange anklewraps to go along with it. Next was Naruto's favorite piece of clothing. While Ero-sennin did hate orange, Naruto supposed his penchant for flashiness came through when he saw this particular piece hanging in the shop window. It was an orange trenchcoat, made of the smoothest leather Naruto had ever felt. It was almost as if whatever the leather had come from, hadn't had a single blemish on it. The boy grinned as he threw his outfit on, and grabbed his shoes. Black shinobi sandals.

Very stylish.

He fished _another _note from the pocket of his duster. Rolling his eyes, he unfurled it and saw what it said. 'Go home, grab supplies, light. Meet at east gate. Going to Suna.' For a second, Naruto didn't understand. He had just recovered from a grueling gauntlet of injury and death, and now Jiraiya wanted to him to meet him at the village gate for an excursion into the field. What was the old fool thinking? Shaking his head, he made up his mind to do what his sensei had said. Grabbing Gama-chan from the bedside table, he leapt from the Hospital's window sill. They had taken him to the very top floor, probably to make it easier to forget the demon was around. Naruto chuckled morosely as he fell, a sad smile on his face. They'd never understand.

_"Boo, Naruto!"_

If it was possible to jump in midair, Naruto managed to pull it off. Kaze's annoyingly manic laugh bounced around in his skull. _"Kidding, kidding. Now you get to see one of your newfound abilities. The Fall Cushion!"_

The blond couldn't help but yell as the wind rushed by his ears at a rapidly increasing pace. He'd hit the ground soon if he didn't do something-

'Wait... What?'

Naruto was hovering a foot from the ground, face down, just as he'd been falling. He ran his hands over his body, to make sure it was still there. Satisfied that he wasn't a pile of bones and blood on the ground, he felt the wind underneath him swell and swirl, twisting him into an upright position as his feet touched down. Grinning widely, he pumped his arm.

"Freakin' Sweet!"

Uzumaki Naruto, newly acquired Fuujin Windmill swirling in his eyes, took off down the street to his home, and then to the East gate of Konoha.

He was ready for anything.

* * *

><p>Hmmm… I really like the way this is turning out now. Much easier to read, and more detailed. I just need to work on making my chapters longer. It needs more meat, like a good stew. Anyways… Give me reviews. They make me hungry!<p> 


	3. Chapter III

_Fuujin_

_Chapter III_

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Yeah.

_Aaaah, so here we are again. You guys have made it past the first two chapters, and hopefully you're hungry for more. I've really enjoyed going back and rewriting this story. Many of you who have read the previous iteration will realize I've still used a great deal from the original, but I've gone back and fleshed things out and rewritten some parts that were lacking in nature. Hopefully, since you're at chapter three, it means you're ready to continue on my little adventure. I'm hoping this chapter can be fleshed out a little more, because this was one of the chapters I was most disappointed in. Hope you enjoy chapter III. -Hangovergoblin_

* * *

><p>(Time skip)<p>

"Oh, great job, Almighty Jiraiya. The first place you brought me is the place where I'm hated second most."

Jiraiya of the Sannin sighed, smiling. Yeah, Konoha was nice and everything, and had good summers, but this... _This _was the place to be in the spring.

"Earth Country? Why would you be hated here- Oh... Forgot. Konoha-nin." Jiraiya chuckled heartily. "Hand me your headband, kid."

Said kid withdrew sharply from his sensei in mock horror. "Hell no! Get your own, you pervert!" His hands flew up to the straps around his head, holding them tightly in place. He knew what being caught in Iwa meant if he had on his Konoha hitai-ate, but he was a little iffy on taking it off. This headband had been with him since his induction into the ninja ranks; it was a badge of both his honor and his dedication, and had been a gift from a father figure.

"Look, kid," Jiraiya said, grinning. "The way I see it, you can either take it off, learn a few Earth jutsu, and put it back on... Or you can die in... 5 minutes. That's how long it is until the next ANBU patrol shows up." Jiraiya shrugged. "But hey, if that's the way you wanna go, who am I to deny that?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "You're an ass," he said as he pulled the strip of cloth from his head and handed it to Jiraiya, who stashed it in a small bag at his waist. The large man secured the pouch with a sealing jutsu, and placed it beside a large boulder. A few hand signs later, the bag had completely assimilated into that boulder, and looked to be as much a part of it as the rest of the rock. Naruto's eyebrow shot up. That was a useful trick. He'd get the old pervert to teach it to him one day.

"I know," said the Sannin, with smiling eyes. "But even so, I'm the best teacher ever." He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb.

"True," he began, "this is Earth Country, and you'll be killed if you're found doing or wearing anything that'll link you to Konoha. But though most are united here by their hatred of Konoha, some still wish to see the fascist Tsuchikage fall from power. So they do what they can to consort with the enemies of their leader." Jiraiya grinned most evilly. "So, to make the story short, I procured a small tract of land, 'hidden' from the most observant of eyes, and never spoken of, through a series of dirty, underhanded deals with the local government."

It was then that Naruto decided his sensei was perhaps as much a cunning fox as his tenant. The blonde grinned as cries of indignation erupted from behind his seal into his mind. The King of Beasts never took it lightly when he was compared to the 'worthless meatsacks' that had imprisoned him in the Shikifuujin so many years ago.

Naruto bowed deeply to his sensei. "Your command of the Schwartz is most impressive."

Jiraiya smiled sheepishly. "I know."

The two made their way onto Earth Country's most beautiful black sand beach, a product of constant volcanic activity for the past hundred thousand years.

As they trudged down the black sand dunes, Naruto had to ask. "So, what exactly are we doing here, pervert?"

The Gallant Jiraiya looked back at the boy as he walked.

"We're setting up camp. It's getting late out, and I'd really like to be settled in. In case someone does come snooping around here, I'd like for us to look like a couple of beach bums." He produced another sack from his waist. "This is filled with empty sake bottles. They're from last night, back at that town. You see, I met some lovely ladies down in one of the bars-"

"Enough! I don't need the details," Naruto said, shaking his head.

Jiraiya laughed heartily at that.

"They're going to add to the illusion. Being a shinobi isn't always about hiding in the shadows, my boy. Being a shinobi means hiding in plain sight, as well."

* * *

><p>One Day Later...<p>

"I bet Gaara would love to be here."

Naruto gawked in amazement at the endless strip of black sand stretching on before him. The waves lapped peacefully at its edge, a stark contrast of clear blue on obsidian black. Never before had he seen something so beautiful. The Hokage Monument didn't even hold a candle to the landscape that stretched for miles on either side of him. His mind wandered back to a certain pinkette in Konoha who would have absolutely killed to be there.

"Probably," Jiraiya said as he stood beside Naruto, admiring the sunrise. "But he doesn't have a super awesome sensei, huh?" Naruto punched the old man in the shoulder playfully.

"Whatever, dude. Let's just get to the asskickery."

The Gallant Jiraiya grinned. The boy was the spitting image of Minato. Who knew that the past two years would turn him into such a clone of his former student? The boy had mastered the Rasengan over the course of the previous year, and had since been working on iterations involving his newly acquired abilities to manipulate wind. At this rate, not only would he reach Minato's level fairly quickly, Jiraiya figured he'd surpass his former student soon. Jiraiya gave the boy four years before he would be Hokage level, maybe less. His talent and determination were unmatched by any of his age, save for the Uchiha boy, who was sure to be a dangerous ninja under Kakashi's fine tutelage.

"So," Jiraiya began. "I was wracking my generous intellect over what to teach you." The white haired man grinned. "And I decided that we would start with a basic Earth Jutsu. Nothing spectacular, because, let's face it, you aren't a genius." Naruto glared heavily at the man, whose grin widened even further. "Kidding, kid. You aren't half bad."

The sannin reached into a breast pocket to pull out a few sheets of paper. When Naruto eyed them curiously, he said, "Elemental Paper, kid. We're gonna determine what that little body of yours can learn easily, and what it's gonna fail miserably at." He handed the sheets over to Naruto. "Pump some chakra into them," he said. "Just don't overdo it."

The blond nodded and did what he was told, pushing chakra into the small slips, which in turn ripped into a thousand pieces, and crisped blackly on the outer edges.

Jiraiya cocked an eyebrow. "Heavy wind affinity, and a moderate fire affinity. Interesting."

Naruto just looked on, moderately unsurprised. With the Fuujin recently surfacing, his wind affinity was probably through the roof. He could derive that conclusion just by looking at the bare facts. What really surprised him was the fire affinity. He hadn't previously tried any fire jutsu, preferring to leave them to Emo-kun and his ridiculous duck-ass hair. Maybe it had been his original affinity, but had been shoved to the side when the Fuujin activated. Such a thing was not uncommon amongst members of a clan with an elemental bloodlimit. Their original limit would be dwarfed by the surfacing bloodline ability, and would lie half-tapped for an indefinite amount of time, until the user found it prudent to dabble in that particular element again.

"But," Jiraiya said, "Negative on Earth. That's expected, though. You're a son of Konoha. Not of Iwa." Jiraiya smiled, nationalistic pride swelling within him. Konoha had done some bad things, but it beat just about anywhere else to live, even if one was a Jinchuurinki. Other places sucked.

Naruto merely shrugged. He really didn't care about Earth, anyway. He tended to shy away from defensive jutsu, preferring the balls to the wall method of attack, or even the tried and true quick strike method. If he couldn't take the hit by himself, or use one of his attacks to parry it, then he was just balls out of luck. Naruto grinned. He liked that phrase. He would have to learn fire jutsu soon to quench his curiosity, but for now, he'd follow Jiraiya's decisions. The old man had been around for a lot longer than he had, and while he hated to say it, he respected the wisdom age had brought to the Gallant Sage.

"So, I'll give you the choice," Jiraiya said, smiling. "Earth asskickery, or Wind asskickery."

Naruto was quick to answer.

* * *

><p><em>"You can't imagine how glad I am you chose Wind, Naruto."<em>

Said blond rolled his eyes in exasperation as he went through the seals of the Fuuton: Daitoppa. The small orb of wind had the most grating voice Naruto had ever heard come out of anything. A stuck pig was more pleasant to listen to, simply because it quit squealing after a while. Naruto grimaced. This was one stuck pig that never quit squealing. 'Thank you, Kaze,' he thought, 'But it wasn't really that hard of a choice. Stick to what you know in the early stages.'

Naruto looked over at his sensei, who was lounging off to the side under a particularly short palm tree with enormous fronds. Perfect for shade in the hot sun of the beach. However perverted he might be, he was an excellent teacher when one really considered what he had already taught Naruto. It was only their fifth day on the beach, and he'd already learned the Kaze Yaiba, and was now working on the Daitoppa.

Dipping into his chakra reserves, he yelled at Jiraiya. "You comfortable up under there?"

The sannin replied without even bothering to open his eyes. "Yep," he called back, basking in the shade of the great fronds. Man, who he would kill to get a Mai-tai out here.

Naruto grinned devilishly. His first prank since leaving Konoha. "Good!" The boy pulled an enormous amount of air from his surroundings and forced it directly at his teacher. The white haired man was bowled over almost immediately, flailing like a fish out of water. Naruto fell to the ground, clutching his sides in laughter.

"You think that was funny, punk?" Jiraiya yelled indignantly. Flashing through a small handful of seals, he held an outstretched palm to the ocean on his left, and one toward his wayward student. "Soak in hell, kid!" An enormous cylinder of water, a quarter of a mile long and 100 meters in diameter flew from the ocean and smashed into Naruto, sending him flying. Or... not. The water opened around him, forming a massive tunnel quite like the swells just a few meters out into the ocean, and passed him without harm.

Jiraiya's mouth dropped, nay, plummeted to God's green earth when the boy reappeared, holding one arm as if he'd just completed an axe chop in front of his body, while the other one was outstretched over his head. Visible swirls of wind wreathed his hands as well as his head. But the most disturbing thing was the fact that he hadn't performed a Daitoppa. The wind didn't leave behind visible traces. This was something altogether different.

"What was that?"

Okay, so it wasn't the most eloquent thing he'd come up with, but how the hell else were you supposed to go about asking something on a bloodlimit? It was obvious that was what the strange manifestation was, because of the unique pattern in Naruto's eyes. Tri-bladed windmills formed at the pupils and radiated out wards, with a sharp, angular form. They overextended a tiny bit, forming triangles off into the sclera. The iris had turned black, and the pupil was a brilliant royal blue color.

"The Fuujin," Naruto replied nonchalantly, almost as if he _hadn't _just diverted a river with the flick of a hand. It was also at that point that Jiraiya of the Densetsu no Sannin realized what Naruto could become. With one small show of power, Jiraiya's perception of the blond had changed, and along with it... Maybe even the world.

"Show me," Jiraiya said.

* * *

><p>Naruto moved with supernatural speed as he and Jiraiya sparred. Landing gracefully on the black sands, he pivoted on one of his feet as Jiraiya's fist raced past his chest, where it had been intent on leaving a lasting mark only a moment before. Grabbing the arm with his enhanced quickness, he pulled, catching Jiraiya off balance. The boy delivered what would of been a punishing backhand to the man's side, had not Jiraiya used Naruto's own hold on his arm to flip himself around behind the boy. The elder ninja pushed a swift kick into the blond's lower back, intent on returning the balancing check back on his student. Naruto grinned as he fell, catching himself on his hands and using his core to push himself into a handstand.<p>

Righting himself with a flip as Jiraiya's leg swept where his arms once were, he threw his weight into a side kick, and actually caught the sannin in the chest.

Before said Sannin poofed into a small beach rock.

Naruto cursed and didn't even try to look behind him. He raced off into the dunes that lined the beach, intent on losing the sannin, who he was sure was right behind him or a few steps ahead of him. "You're fast, Naruto," Jiraiya said as he appeared beside Naruto, racing at equal speeds. "You're at Lee's unweighted speed, something usually impossible for all but a few nin at your age." Jiraiya flung himself forward just a little bit, and used the space to swing his leg out in a kick that knocked the breath out of Naruto and consequently sent the blond stumbling to the ground.

Gasping, he pulled himself to his feet. Throwing a heated glare at his sensei for being so rough, Naruto went into a taijutsu stance only to shimmer in the air and then disappear.

"Crap," Jiraiya muttered to himself. The kid was fast, but only as physically strong as he was before they left. Jiraiya was extremely interested in seeing just how long the kid could keep up the ridiculous speeds. He was probably down to his last bit of reserves.

"Or not," Jiraiya grimaced as he was knocked off his feet by a positively massive amount of wind. The force of the blow left him breathless just as Naruto had been moments earlier, and the consequential impact on a nearby tree was giving him a few stars to float in his vision. 'Damn. I shouldn't have been surprised like that,' Jiraiya scolded himself. To be caught unawares by a genin, even one like Naruto, was an incidence of folly, and if it were someone powerful... It would've meant his death. And the chakra this boy had… it was amazing his coils could hold such a massive amount. Jiraiya understood the teen was the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, but to have such insane amounts of chakra… the very thought of it made Jiraiya giddy with excitement. If he could teach the boy _half _of the jutsu he knew, Naruto would be a devastating opponent on the battlefield.

This was all speculation to Jiraiya, though. The word 'if' played a large part in all of this. He knew Naruto had a natural talent and the raw attributes it took to be a great shinobi, but molding the boy into something more than a Jounin was going to take more time than Jiraiya wanted. There was something vast and evil approaching; something beyond the Akatsuki, and Jiraiya knew it. He could feel it in his bones that Akatsuki wasn't the only threat. There was something beyond them that needed attention, too. Once this training trip was over and Naruto was reunited with his teammates, Jiraiya resolved to do some research that went above and beyond the Icha-Icha books.

A Kaze Yaiba swooped in low, and he had only a moment to duck before it lopped off all the hair from the top of his head. Jiraiya began to grow frustrated. He hadn't even been able to pinpoint the attack's origin. "How long can you keep this up, Naruto?" he yelled, in case the boy couldn't hear him over the rushing of the wind in his ears. "You can stop now!"

"Good," the boy said as he appeared from a visible air disturbance. He was panting and quite obviously exhausted if the excess of sweat was any evidence. "I was feeling a bit taxed," he quipped, grinning through his breaths. In truth, the constant use of the Fuujin had worn him down. He wasn't aware there was any kind of limit on the usage of the technique; this was the first time he had ever actually used it in combat. The first move he had pulled when he diverted the waters Jiraiya had thrown at him had really put a drain on his reserves. Naruto surmised this was because that while the Fuujin enhanced his abilities to manipulate wind, it still drained him of chakra over time, because in essence, he was still using the chakra to manipulate the wind, anyway.

He had to admit, though, the Fuujin had impressive benefits. He reckoned he could keep up with Sasuke in a race at this point; he had never moved so fast in his life. It was exhilarating beyond belief, if taxing on his body.

Jiraiya chuckled lightheartedly. "I'm impressed," he said. "And because I'm so impressed by your obvious knack for elemental manipulation, we're skipping Earth Country 'till later in our little journey. We'll come back next spring." Naruto cocked a curious eyebrow. "Pack your things, Naruto. We're heading for Suna in the morning. No arguments. And when we get there, I'll show you why it's gonna be worth the trip."

Naruto grumbled loudly. He was travelling again, for the second time this week.

* * *

><p><em>Hmmm… I feel as if I fleshed this one out as best as I could. I'm sorry there isn't much mention of Sasuke or the rest of Team 7 in the past chapter or two, but they don't play a huge role in this part of the series. They're time will come later, during the Chuunin exams. There are quite a few surprises left in this book, though. Hopefully, you'll be hooked enough to start the second book, Raijin. Hopefully.<em>


	4. Chapter IV

_Fuujin_

_Chapter IV_

_It seriously sucks that I keep posting chapters, yet I have such a minimum number of reviews… Is my summary not good enough to attract people? What's the deal here, guys? Is there anything I can do to make it more interesting? Because to me, reviews are like affirmation that my story is good enough for people to read. I really do wish I was getting more recognition here. I see stories with like 50,000 words and the sentence structure of a fifth grader pull in close to one hundred reviews. That burns me up. Anyways, there's the next chapter to Fuujin. Read and enjoy! -Hangovergoblin_

* * *

><p>"Okay, seriously. Are we there yet?"<p>

Some of the light shone off the boy's hitai-ate as his head bobbed in the desert sun, catching his companion in the eyes with an annoying glint. The older man sighed. He had thought just moments earlier about how much of an improvement the boy's maturity level had made. Now he cursed himself for the jinx. He glanced back at his blond charge, noting the poutish scowl on the young teen's face and the folded arms that simply screamed immaturity. Rolling his eyes, he turned back around and refused to answer the Uzumaki.

The boy rolled his eyes, too. "Take that as a 'No'," he said sarcastically. "We've been walking through this godforsaken desert for the past three days, Ero-Sannin, and we've yet to come to Suna. How much longer is it gonna be?" To say that he was pissed would be a gross understatement. He was _beyond_ pissed at the fact that his sensei had led him through the desert, which, by the way, was hot as hell during the day, and as cold as a freezer at night, and he promised himself revenge once they got to civilization.

"We're not going to Suna," Jiraiya deadpanned.

Naruto nearly stopped cold in his tracks when he heard that little bombshell. When Jiraiya had told him they were going to Wind Country, he had assumed that meant they were stopping off in Suna for a couple of nights, or staying there all together. Apparently not. "So I won't get to see Gaara?" he asked. He was quite hoping he'd get to see the raccoon-like genin once more before he totally went off the grid. The boy, while clinically insane, could still be reached if spoken to the right way. Naruto hoped Gaara would eventually get over his fear of people and friends, and eventually warm up to others.

"No," Jiraiya said without looking back at him. "We don't have the time, and I don't think it's a good idea right now." The older man turned his head to his apprentice. "Suna is going through a time of political upheaval since the Kazekage's death and the invasion.

Naruto hung his head and focused on his feet for a little while. His inability to see his friends before he left was starting to get to him now, after all the excitement of a training mission had passed, and the euphoria of being promised Jutsu had gone with it. At least, he grudgingly admitted, he had the furball and the manic orb of wind to talk to, if he got tired of Jiraiya.

The boy grinned as he heard the screams of mock anger from the Kyuubi sounded through his head, along with the ring of bars hit with enormous force. Unfortunately, though, the mention of a manic ball of wind had brought a mad-gabbing Kaze to the forefront of his mind, who immediately began to talk in his extremely lecturous, history-reciting tone.

_"I seem to have forgotten something else in my absence from this plane of existence." _Naruto could faintly make out a pair of ethereal shoulders shrugging. _"The Temples of the Elements." _A grin split Kaze's face, much like the one he had shown when Naruto had first met him. The blond sighed, preparing himself for the impending history lesson.

Kaze took a deep breath, which was totally superfluous, considering he was made of air, and began to talk.

_"Officially known as a 'Sanctum,' the temples provided a place of refuge for Jin when they needed it. Think of it like one of your culture's monasteries. People searching for the 'Path' or the 'Way,' the general moral direction one must take to achieve inner peace, would make it a place of habitation according to their needs. The temples also served as a place for one to train in the chosen element of that particular Sanctum. People would not train in the use of fire in a water monastery, would they?"_

Kaze laughed as if he had made the greatest joke in the world. Naruto merely shrugged, rolling his eyes. The orb of wind took a moment to catch his breath, (which shouldn't have even mattered) and began again.

_"Because of the Jin's elemental abilities, they placed these temples on areas of the land which had a particularly strong elemental affinity. Say, for instance, the Tsuchijin would have placed a temple dedicated to the pursuit of earth manipulation in an area where large amounts of rock and dirt could be found. I believe the place currently known as Iwa no Kuni would probably house a hidden earth temple somewhere."_

This perked Naruto up. "So," he said, connecting the mental dots, "If Iwa has an Earth Sanctum... Then could Suna have a Wind Sanctum?"

Kaze nodded. _"Most likely it did at one point. You would have to find it, though. Many, if not all, were destroyed along with the Jin by the forces of time. We would be lucky if only one remained standing." _

Naruto grinned. "Then we at least have to try!"

_**"While I admire your spirit, kid, Kaze forgot to mention something very, very important. If you're outside of the temple, you have no hope of finding it. Last time I was near one, I had to sniff it out. I believe it uses some type of illusion to hide it from prying eyes. The Jin were very protective of their temples and would go to great lengths to protect the secrets within. My demonic eyes were rendered useless in my search for the Sanctums.**_

The Kyuubi stood near the edge of its cage, allowing some of the light to shine on him. _**"But then again, I don't have those eyes."**_

Naruto frowned. "What do you mean by that?" he asked.

The fox's eyes slanted, as if in mockery. _**"Did you really just ask that?"**_

"Yeah," Naruto said, confused. What game was the fox playing?

_**"... Think about it."**_

Naruto adopted his thinking pose, and after a moment, his hand shot out, in a thumbs up.

"I got nothin'!" he exclaimed.

The fox put its paw on its forehead and sighed.

_**"Humans really are retarded monkeys."**_

Naruto pointed an accusing finger at Kyuubi, while Kaze snickered.

"Take that back, you bastard fox!"

Kyuubi chuckled maliciously. _**"Or what? You'll sneeze at me? I hardly think you could do anything, anyway. Besides, if you tried to defeat me in what would **_**surely **_**be an epic battle of wits and might, I couldn't tell you how to find the Temple, now could I?"**_

The situation was made even more humorous when Naruto mock-contemplated the idea. In the end, all he could do was sit down in his mindscape and give a half-hearted "Whatever..."

_**"Whatever's right," **_the fox grunted. _**"Now shut up and let me talk."**_

_**"So, do you remember the battle between you and Sasuke? That's right, how could you forget? He kicked your ass."**_

Inwardly pleased with his ability to ruffle the small blond teen's feathers, Kyuubi saved the sight of the seething Naruto for a chuckle, later on. Naruto was about to protest, but the Kyuubi cut him off.

_**"Well, when you woke up, you could see the disturbance left by Sasuke's rush to leave the Valley of the End, did you not?"**_

Naruto thought hard for a moment, trying to recall the chase. "Yeah," he agreed. "I could!"

_**"Okay... So since that was the case, and if the Temple was covered by a genjutsu I could see through, what do you think the Temple was hidden from?"**_

The teen sat, thinking. "Well... Most likely enemies, right? That's what I would hide it from." Then, Naruto thought a little more. "Wait," he said. "The Jin hid it from _everyone_. Even other Jin. You would have to have the specific affinity to see the temple!"

Both the Kyuubi and Kaze clapped their approval. _**"Very good, Naruto. I'll make a sharp one out of you, yet," **_Kyuubi dryly remarked. Kaze floated over to Naruto, who was still sitting down, but now smiling. _"Now. When you leave your mindscape, activate your Fuujin. Look for the beacon." _It grinned merrily.

"The beacon?" Naruto asked. The manic little ball of wind nodded excitedly. _"You'll know what I'm talking about!"_

* * *

><p>Naruto's eyes snapped open, Fuujin windmills blazing in each eye. The world around him was eclipsed in eternal blue, from the swirling currents, updrafts, and thermals of the Suna desert. Ahead of him, he could make out a darker place in the shape of a large human. Jiraiya, his sensei, was shuffling through the sand just ahead of him, grumbling about the poor travelling conditions of the desert.<p>

Naruto's black and blue eyes swept over the desert landscape with a mind of their own, intent on finding the beacon Kaze had spoken of. The wind was a bit of a hindrance, though, considering he could see all the slight nuances of the currents, as well as the huge gusts that would occasionally render him blind. The desert was probably not the best place to try and look to the horizon with the Fuujin, especially during the evening, when the cold and warm air from the day and night met each other. Naruto could see a small twister forming in the distance where the thermally opposed winds clashed.

And then, as if his eyes had been drawn to it, he spotted the beacon.

A massively gargantuan pillar of solid royal blue stood alone in the middle of the desert, a few miles north of their position. Naruto grinned. At their relatively slow pace, they would probably come to a stop within a close proximity of the pillar, and Naruto could fully investigate the Temple. _"Look at you," _Kaze said in Naruto's mindscape. _"Giddy as a schoolgirl over a temple." _The ball of wind chuckled. _"Now," _he said, _"All that's left is to convince your sensei to allow us to train there."_

Naruto nodded as he stepped through the thick white sand. "Piece of cake," he thought. The older man would most likely enjoy the chance to let Naruto grow on his own. He'd probably leave for Suna and its infamous brothels, and be back whenever he felt like it, too. This could work out far better than Naruto would've thought.

He decided to speak up ahead of time, in case the pervert decided he was against the idea. That way, he'd have some time to work on the old man's dirtier side, and hopefully sway the Sannin to his side.

"Jiraiya-sensei?" he asked in his nicest, most pleading voice.

The white-haired man turned as he walked, and Naruto could hear a muffled 'Yes?' from within the scarf the man was wearing in order to protect himself from the whipping sand.

Naruto wiped his goggles off before he began to speak. He had brought them from home in case of this very reason.

"Ummm... Can I hang out in the desert for a little while? I know of a temple here that'll shield me from the sand while I train." He left out the whole connection to the Jin for a later moment in the conversation.

"I suppose," Jiraiya said. "Lead me to it, and we can stay the night." He waited for Naruto to catch up, but the teen stopped when he got to Jiraiya. "That's probably not gonna be possible, Jiraiya-sensei. I'm the only one who can see it." He pointed to his eyes, which still had the Fuujin activated. "Oh, I see...," Jiraya said. "Wait. How do you know about the temple?"

Naruto tapped his head. "The ball of air inside my head told me."

Jiraiya sweatdropped. "Okay... Then what am I supposed to do?"

Naruto grinned. He had already thought of that.

* * *

><p>After sending Jiraiya to Suna with half of Gama-chan's money, Naruto stepped through the desert toward the Sanctum. Jiraiya had told him he'd be back in their general direction in about two months, so Naruto better make the most of his training while he could. They had said their goodbyes for the moment, and began humping it to their destinations, respectively.<p>

Naruto was beside himself with excitement. Hopefully, the temple had been preserved, even if it was housed in the great eternal sands of Suna's desert country. Maybe the sand and wind hadn't beaten it to a pulp over the course of a thousand years. Maybe, just maybe, a small bit of his people's heritage had been preserved. So the teen trudged through the desert, a speck of orange and black amidst the endless sea of white and brown, a little faster than he had before. He was ready for anything.

The blue pillar grew in brilliance as he came closer to the temple. He was belated when he began to make out its shape in the desert sands. A huge building, it appeared to be raised slightly on its foundation, and was circular in shape. From what he could make out, the top was rounded, like the buildings back in Konoha, but instead of ending in a flat roof, the top appeared to round itself like a dome. He could barely see the massive pillars holding the building up, too.

Soon, Naruto found himself at a stone stair case, hundreds of feet across, and around twenty feet tall, sticking straight out of the desert, and surrounding the building. He found that the desert sand was oddly calm once he stepped on those hallowed stairs, and as he turned to look back, he realized he was standing inside a massive twister of sand, which was slowly revolving around the temple. That was what the pillar of blue was. A chimney of dense air, rising up into the atmosphere.

Naruto began to ascend the staircase, slowly, taking in every inch of wonder and majesty before him. The stairs had been carved out of a solid piece of marble, which must have been absolutely massive to deliver something so huge, in perfect form. There was no evidence of wear, not indication of the passing of time. The solid white surface was immaculate, almost as if no one had ever, ever stepped upon its surface. Every step was a perfect ninety degree angle, beautifully geometric in every way. Naruto shuddered in awe as he stepped even closer to the main santuary of the temple, which rose out of the sand like an invincible fortress, impenetrable by human senses.

He could tell now, that the architecture was much like that of the western cultures. Impossibly thick columns held aloft the roof a hundred feet high, which ended in a beautiful rounded dome. Above the arched entrance was brass plate written in a totally alien, yet incredibly familiar language with sharp letters composing of only a few lines so unlike the usual language of the Eastern Continent.

_"Remember thy self."_

Kaze's voice rang through his mind, devoid of any emotion but a hint of sorrow.

"What?" Naruto asked.

_"It says, 'Remember Thyself.'"_

"Oh," was all Naruto could say. What _could _one say in the presence of such a monument to history?

With one fateful step, Naruto's life changed once more, amidst the political, social, emotional, physical, and spiritual changes that were steadily piling themselves upon his life. He stepped through that elegant arch, and into the most gloriously beautiful, most important monument he had ever been graced with seeing in his life.

Immense columns stretched skyward toward the domed top, which had a large hole in the middle, allowing the half-luminous twilight glow to pour in and grace everything with its touch. The columns had beautiful etchings and inlaid silver stretching all over them, invoking an incredible sense of elaboration and embellishment in the on looking teen. In the middle of the temple was a large, raised dais upon which sat a small fountain. The water that flowed over and into a hollow basin, which was carved into the dais, was incredibly clean and clear, with not a speck of the encroaching desert's sand in it. Around the dais and reaching toward the walls and columns was a mosaic-tiled floor, with a familiar symbol painted into it. The Fuujin windmill was proudly displayed under Naruto's feet; a silent reminder to all who ventured here that this was a place of the wind.

The walls were made of solid marble, as well, but instead of the white color the staircase had been carved from, this marble was a pale beige, like the desert sands whipping outside. And everything was symmetrical. Even the small caverns carved into the walls, which housed urns and vases of every size and shape, as well as multiple bookshelves stuffed to the brim with scrolls. The whole thing was a mirror image of itself, made by those who craved order in turbulent times.

The whole time he beheld this spectacle, Naruto was speechless. He did not move, his jaw did not reset itself, and he didn't breathe. All he was capable of at the moment was wonder, awe, and admiration for the monument and whoever had built it. "My god...," he said to no one in particular. "It's... beautiful."

_"Beautiful is an understatement, Master."_

Naruto jumped at the voice behind him. Turning, he came face to face with someone he'd never seen before, yet he'd seen this person every day of his life for the past few months. The man before him appeared to be around twenty, but Naruto knew he was much, much older. He was dressed in a simple, white male kimono, and geta. Silver hair stuck up in a messy form like Naruto's, and pale, white, Hyuuga-like eyes gazed back at him, set in a pale face.

_"My original master, the very first I was bound to, was the leader of this Sanctum. He died protecting the people and history inside when a sand demon attacked. That sand demon was known as Ichibi no Shukaku. You know his container."_

Naruto nodded, and went back to gazing at the majesty around him, even as Kaze spoke._ "I am allowed to materialize into corporeal form, but only in the Sanctums. My job is to guide you in the training of your abilities."_

Kaze stepped to the dais and reached into the basin. He raised his hands to his mouth and drank deeply from the water, treating it with a deep sense of reverence and piety. As he finished, he turned his eyes to Naruto, who met his gaze. _"It has been one thousand, six hundred and fifty two years since I last drank from this fountain." _

Naruto smiled. So Kaze did have a serious side. He'd store that information for later pondering.

_"You had better get some sleep, Naruto," _Kaze said, pointing up at the stars that were now twinkling merrily through the dome's hole. _"You have a long two months ahead of you. Mastery of wind will not come as easily as you think, not even with the Fuujin." _The man smiled at the whiskered genin. _"I look forward to guiding you along the Path, master. You are destined for greatness, and you will receive much help along the way. I can feel it."_

Naruto grinned. "Will I be Hokage?"

Kaze shrugged, returning the grin with a Cheshire Cat imitation_. "No..." _

Naruto hung his head and unrolled his bedroll.

Kaze muttered three words under his breath that went unheard, even with Naruto's fox-like senses.

_"Something much more."_

* * *

><p><em>Hope you liked my description of the Wind temple. I really enjoyed the way it came out in the original story, so I let it be. The rewrite wasn't very intense in this chapter, because for the most part, it was spot on the first time around. I think it captured Naruto's emotional growth well, and fleshed out the character of Kaze a bit more. The next chapter should be out in a day or two… I might even release it tomorrow morning. Hope you guys enjoyed the read. –Hangovergoblin.<em>


	5. Chapter V

_Fuujin_

_Chapter V_

_Welcome back, everyone. There's something in the chapter that's really awesome! Action! After two chapters of action-less fun, you have a fight scene involving the rest of Team 7. Not only that, but other excellent things are revealed. I hope you guys like it. Like the previous chapter, things were pretty spot-on in this chapter, so I left much of it the same. I corrected a few spelling and grammatical errors, but everything seems to be peachy now. Hope you enjoy the story!_

* * *

><p>Sasuke leveled a smoldering glare towards his opponent as his Sharingan activated. Still a user of the three tomoe version, he had decided to only use the Mangekyou if his life was in mortal peril. He could literally feel the waves of fear from the C-class nukenin as the short man entered a shaky ox stance.<p>

The dark haired teen could hear the sounds of small skirmishes off to his left and right, where Kakashi and Sakura were engaging their opponents. Kakashi's was a B-class missing-nin from the Mist, while Sakura faced off with a C-class Chuunin of Iwa.

Since Naruto's departure three months ago, she had really picked up the pace. All of team 7 had, really, but Sakura had shown the most improvement. Her chakra capacity was low Chuunin now, and her control was still sharp as ever. She had even gotten a little taller from a growth spurt, and had packed on some lean muscle. Sasuke couldn't help but admire her just a teensy bit out of the corner of his red eye. Her muscles coiled and uncoiled like a cat's as she hopped from position to position, throwing explosive kunai at her opponent.

The man in front of Sasuke rushed toward the teen, leveling a kunai at his throat. Sasuke dodged at the last moment, drew his new chokuto, and slashed at the man's midriff. The sudden loss of a target caused the man to overbalance and caused the man to tumble into the blade, but Sasuke withdrew it quickly, leaving a long red gash up the man's torso. Sasuke was never one for short fights. As sadistic as it seemed, he liked to toy a little with his opponents. It was an ego thing.

Sasuke spun around as the man stumbled forward, and in the same motion, drew a gash up the man's back, too. The man cried out in pain as he landed on the ground, but Sasuke's ears were deaf to his anguish. He went into a stance with his right foot forward, his left foot perpendicular to his right, behind him, and his sword above his head, pointing in a forward stabbing motion. The man rolled over onto his back and got up again, swaying a little on his feet as he grasped at his kunai holster, only to find it was gone.

His shocked eyes swung up to meet Sasuke's, even as the teen held aloft the missing pouch.

"Looking for this?" Sasuke asked, smirking malevolently.

The man's eyes widened in terror as the tomoe began to spin in Sasuke's eyes, captivating the man's stare hypnotically. Sasuke stepped forward, and so did the man, albeit a little jerkily. Inside the man's head, his own voice was screaming in horror, trying to tell the man to run for his life, even as his body took another step forward. Sasuke could hear the mental anguish, although it was a little muffled from the trip between their heads, but he cared little. The man before him was a traitor to his village, a disgrace to the shinobi community. A mercenary for hire or a bandit, he was to be killed without prejudice, especially since he had been robbing Fire Country residents and travellers up and down this travel-worn highway for the past few months.

Sasuke ran the man through on his chokuto, and ripped it out of the man's side with a forceful jerk. The man did not scream, nor did he stop staring into Sasuke's eyes, even as he fell to the ground and gurgled his last breath. The life fled from his eyes, and Sasuke sheathed the chokuto at his side. Checking his white shirt for any extra bloodstains, he walked over to Sakura, who was busy burning the remains of the Mist-nin she had killed. Scorch marks and small entry wounds were indicative of death by explosive kunai, a weapon that Sakura found she favored over anything else.

As he approached, she looked up at him and pointed to a place on his collar. "You've got red on you."

"I know," Sasuke said, scratching at the now-coagulating blood.

Kakashi appeared, dusting himself off from his little bout with the highest level of the small group. Taking in the condition of his two charges, he turned his one eye to Sasuke.

"You've got red on you," he said.

Sasuke merely sighed.

"How was your fight with the Jounin?" Sakura asked as she finished cremating the remains of the dead.

"Eh," Kakashi shrugged. "He's dead."

Sakura raised an eyebrow, but smiled. "As if that weren't obvious," she retorted. Taking her gloves off, she put them in her shinobi pouch as she turned to Sasuke. "What about you?"

Sasuke made a small noise of annoyance. "I got red on me."

Sakura and Kakashi laughed a little, and let Sasuke continue.

"It wasn't exactly an exciting fight," he said, dusting off his pants. "Can we leave now? I have to train."

Kakashi nodded, holding up a slip of paper. "Yeah. I got the leader's head for the bounty. Let's go."

As they walked back to Konoha, Kakashi couldn't help but see the improvement his team had made. Sasuke had actually improved emotionally after getting his ass handed to him by Naruto, and had made huge leaps and bounds socially as he came out of his shell. Both Sakura and Kakashi had been amazed to find that when prompted, he actually did have a sense of humor hidden under the layers of depression and angst. Once the layers had been peeled away, they discovered Sasuke was a good person at heart. Now, as they traveled, he would crack jokes occasionally, and laugh when something funny happened.

Gone were the 'Hn' sound of disinterest, and the quiet contempt he had shown for his fellow shinobi, and in place, was a calmer, more affable, less angry Sasuke.

Sakura, too, had improved exponentially over the course of three months. She had grown, physically and emotionally, and now sported the proper physique of a kunoichi who ate her Wheaties and exercised properly. Kakashi had found that she was quite agile, once she had been physically whipped into shape. She could jump higher than Sasuke, and without his speed training, she would have been faster than him. She still lacked a lot of physical strength, though.

Her chakra capacity had increased, too, as Kakashi forced them to learn more advanced techniques in ninjutsu, and her control increased at an even faster rate as she practiced her genjutsu.

Team 7 was truly shaping up into the assault team he had Kakashi had dreamed them to be. He was sure that Naruto was growing, too, under the tutelage of Jiraiya. The old man was a pervert, but he was also one hell of a teacher, especially to have taught the Yondaime how to battle. Kakashi only prayed Jiraiya was giving Naruto all the attention that Kakashi himself had had a hard time giving as he trained Sasuke. He was truly regretful of neglecting Naruto's training for Sasuke's, but he felt he owed Sasuke because of his oath to Obito. Sasuke must be trained in the proper usage of his Doujutsu, even if it cost Kakashi his place as Naruto's sensei.

"Well, well, what do we have 'ere?"

The three-man cell turned to find a group of bandits staring them down, brandishing their weapons threateningly. They were armed with all sorts of make-shift items of war, like rusted pitchforks and secondhand kunai. From Sasuke's count, there were seven of them, each with the chakra capacity of an academy student. He chuckled sinisterly inside. "Pathetic," Sasuke muttered under his breath.

"Wha' did you call us?" the bandit leader yelled indignantly.

'So the man is either stupid or brave for challenging a team of shinobi," Sasuke thought. He mentally shrugged. 'Stupid,' he decided.

"Do I have to repeat myself?" Sasuke challenged. His eye colors shifted and inverted as the Sharingan appeared, and he drew his chokuto threateningly. Sakura and Kakashi stood back. When Sasuke taunted his enemies, they knew he wanted to fight alone.

His Sharingan began to spin furiously, and the tomoes could be seen shifting even as they whirled around his pupil.

"Why you little-" The bandit yelled as he charged, only to stop mid-charge and mid-sentence.

The bandit leader could feel a burning sensation in the center of his chest. It wasn't located on the skin, but actually inside his body, and the intensity grew. His brow furrowed, even as Sasuke's teammates and the other bandits looked on in curiousity. What could Sasuke be doing to this man to make him just stop. "Is he hypnotizing the man, sensei?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi watched the scene unfold with morbid fascination. "I don't know," he answered, unable to turn his head for some reason. He knew something important was happening.

The bandit raised his hands to his chest and dug his nails into the shirt. The pain was growing. Ripping the shirt apart, the man began to dig frantically at his chest, even as he could see the skin sinking into itself. Sasuke continued to glare heavily at that same spot on the man's chest as his Sharingan spun in his eyes.

The bandits realized quickly that whatever was happening, it was bad, and began to run, but the damage was already done and their fates were already sealed. The bandit's back and chest imploded, and an ominous black hole sat gaping in the corpse's center. The bandits began to yell as an invisible force clutched their running bodies, and the yells turned into screams of horror as the bandit leader's whole body imploded into the spatial singularity. They felt themselves being pulled by an impossibly strong force, even as the trees around them bent toward the black anomaly.

Sasuke said a single word as everything in a 360 degree field was pulled into the black hole. With a final grunt of exertion, he completed the technique. There was a thunderclap as the spatial anomaly collapsed itself, and Sasuke's world went black as he collapsed from chakra exhaustion.

* * *

><p>Naruto awoke to the sound of Kaze humming merrily as he rearranged the scrolls on the walls. The teen bent over and picked up his ANBU armor from beside his bedroll and began to strap it on.<p>

_"Glad to see you're awake, master. Are you prepared for your first day of training?" _Kaze asked, smiling, He was obviously happy about something.

Naruto nodded, returning the smile. "You betcha," he replied. But first, I'm ready for some breakfast!" The blond began to unpack a cup of instant ramen from his bag, but was stopped by Kaze.

_"No need for that, master." _He pointed at an urn on the wall._ "See for yourself." _

Naruto reluctantly put the small cup away, and walked to the urn. Glancing over into it, he was shocked to see loaves of bread stacked all the way to the top. "How did this get here?" he asked, turning to look back at Kaze, who was still busying himself with the scrolls.

_"The original builders of this temple realized that it would be incredibly hard to feed those in the temple from the desert outside, so they employed the original Seal Masters to create a seal that would make an unlimited amount of food to be stored. The Seal Masters were so skilled, they make your sensei, Jiraiya, look like a novice."_

"And the seals store the food?" Naruto asked, amazed by the thought of people more skilled than Jiraiya in sealing.

The white-haired manifestation nodded._ "Yes," _he replied_. "And to great effect. Now, eat up. Today, we start with basic manipulation."_

Naruto pulled a loaf from the urn and began munching on it happily.

As he was eating, Kaze selected a scroll from the shelf, and bringing it over to Naruto, laid it at his feet. Naruto said thanks through his mouthful of food, and after plopping to the ground, unfurled the scroll.

He was surprised to see it written in his own language, seeing as how the Jin had a totally different language of their own. He shrugged to himself and began to read about basic manipulation.

Fuujin activated, Naruto went into the stance described by the scroll, focused, and pulled at the air around him. He was pleasantly surprised when a light breeze caressed his face, physical proof he was doing something at least a little right. He decided to focus a little more, to see what kind of response he got. Naruto went through the same motion, but was surprised to find himself flung into the air. He landed roughly at the feet of Kaze, who had been watching quietly.

_"Wind Manipulation is about moderation, and finding the middle ground to work from." _The wind manifestation held out a hand to Naruto, who gladly accepted it and pulled himself to his feet. _"Your first try, you pulled to easily. Your second, you focused too hard. It's about finding balance, not forcefully pushing something until it happens!" _Kaze said. Naruto nodded.

"I'll try to remember that the next time I get blown twenty feet into the air," he retorted.

Moving back to his former place, he went through the motions again and again.

* * *

><p>"You've got some explaining to do, Sasuke."<p>

The dark-haired teen sat up in his bed, only to find Kakashi sitting on a stool beside it, watching intently.

"How long was I out?" Sasuke asked, scratching his head with one hand, and rubbing the sleep out of the other.

"A week," Kakashi replied lazily. Sasuke made a noise of annoyance and got out of bed. He headed over to his closet to find his shirt fully cleaned of blood, pressed, and hanging from a hook.

"Sakura washed it for you."

Sasuke pulled the shirt over his head and moved to the bathroom to find his face covered with stubble when he looked in the mirror. Sighing, he pulled a can of shaving cream from the medicine cabinet and wet his face with some warm water.

"Well?" Kakashi ventured again.

"Look," Sasuke said, working the cream into lather and applying it to his face. "I really don't want to talk about it."

Kakashi walked over and leaned on the doorframe, arms crossed. "I do," he deadpanned.

"I couldn't even begin to tell you the story. It's long," Sasuke said as he drew his razor across his chin.

"I have a long time," Kakashi said, obviously not taking 'no' for an answer.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and brought the razor down over his jawline, taking his stubble with it. "Fine," he said.

"It happened after I thought I killed Naruto at the Valley of the End."

"What did?" Kakashi asked, his impossibly sharp mind connecting the dots already.

"My Sharingan changed. It's like Itachi's. The Mangekyou," Sasuke said, running the blade of his razor under the faucet.

"Like this?"

Sasuke looked to his sensei and found himself face to face with the Kaleidoscope Mirror Wheel of the Mangekyou.

Kakashi blinked, and the eye returned to normal as he covered it back up with his hitai-ate.

"Pretty much," Sasuke said. He knew Kakashi could inherit the Mangekyou, but he wasn't sure how the man had obtained it. That would mean Kakashi had killed his best friend. For the life of him, Sasuke couldn't remember anyone who could have been Kakashi's best friend in his own lifetime.

"Ah."

Sasuke raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Ah? That's all you have to say? I have the Mangekyou, and all you say is 'Ah'?" Sasuke scoffed. "What kind of answer is that?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Mine," he deadpanned. Sasuke rolled his eyes and made his annoyed sound again.

"This changes everything, Sasuke."

"How so?" Sasuke asked. The tone of Kakashi's voice was even more serious than it had been earlier.

"It means we have to establish rules of its use and train even harder to increase your chakra capacity. Sasuke... There will be a point soon, at which I won't be able to teach you anything else. Then, it will be up to you to surpass your brother, and you alone." Kakashi stood straight. "And when that day comes, you can have your revenge, and live your life. But don't let revenge consume everything. Then, when it happens... You'll just be left empty inside. I won't tell you to not seek revenge actively, but Sasuke, revenge never eases the pain."

Kakashi turned and left, letting Sasuke stew with this new information.

Sasuke stood there, deep in thought for a long, long time.

Then, suddenly, he left the bathroom, dressed, and went to find Kakashi.

He needed to talk to him.

* * *

><p>One Month Later, Sanctum of the Wind...<p>

Naruto roared with exertion as all of the wind in the Sanctum swirled around him violently. The miniature tornado he had created roared just as loudly as he did, and the combination was deafening in his ears.

Arms outstretched to his sides, he willed the air this way and that, pushing and pulling just as Kaze had shown him. Fuujin spinning madly in his eyes, he gave one final push upwards, and the tornado left its perimeter around him and shot to the ceiling, and out of the hole.

He was left panting, hands on his knees, as Kaze clapped his approval.

_"You are improving, master. And quickly, too." _

His manic smile returned, which had been absent until Naruto did something worthy of praise. Kaze was indeed a stern teacher. The boy was making progress in leaps and bounds, though; far faster than Kaze would have thought. What a normal Jin would have learned in a year, Naruto learned in a few days. His growth was exponential on a grand scale, and for the first time in a thousand years, Kaze felt he had someone worthy to guide. Naruto had a talent above and beyond anything he had ever seen. He was quite possibly a genius.

Smiling, he made his way over to the boy and clapped him on the back.

_"It's been one month since we've been here, Naruto. Your sensei will return in one month. Shall we work even harder?"_

Seeing Naruto's nod, his smile grew into a grin. Naruto returned the grin full force. "Yeah. Let's make it count!"

The blond stood, pulling his jacket closer to his body as Kaze began to explain the next exercise, which involved the same tornado, but creating blades that would fling out at the opponent during the spin. Naruto equated it to the Kaiten, plus a ranged attack.

The whiskered genin stood, arms outstretched, and prepared for another go.

* * *

><p>Two weeks earlier...<p>

"Again!" Kakashi barked, as Sasuke began to charge another Chidori.

The teen's white shirt was soaked with sweat, dripping from the neck down to the sleeves. Even as he braced his wrist to deliver the charged attack, the sweat would drip and hiss as it met the ten thousand volt charge. Sasuke grit his teeth and ran at the tree, stabbing as hard as he could, even as the muscles in his arm protested and buzzed from the exertion and massive voltage running through it.

The tree exploded into billions of splinters as its core superheated and expanded faster than the outer wood.

That was Sasuke's third Chidori, and he could feel it in his bones as his chakra depleted once more. The pair had been at this for about a week, doing their best to enhance Sasuke's chakra volume. So far, there had been a little success; Sasuke was able to complete three Chidori, and two Goukakyou before his reserves dipped dangerously low. That was one Goukakyou up from when they had started.

Kakashi had mentioned the Chuunin exams were taking place five and a half months from now, so they were doing everything they could to prepare the young Uchiha for a promotion. Kakashi had also let him in on two little insider secrets, too. The first was that the Chuunin exam was being held in Kusa, and the second was that the final rounds were team-based, and were basically a free-for-all. Four teams would compete in a melee to decide who would be considered for promotion. First place held the highest consideration, second got the second most, etc. etc.

Sasuke had little doubt that his team would come out on second or third, if not first, because of the stressing regimen he and Sakura had been placed on. Next week, they were scheduled for survival training in the Forest of Death, and had to make it through without using any chakra. Sasuke wasn't sure how Kakashi would keep track of that, but he knew the Jounin would find some way. The week after that, they were to train with Gai in taijutsu as a special favor for Kakashi, and then, the week after that, more advanced technique training with Kakashi.

The cycloptic Jounin had even gone so far as to ask several ANBU members to help train Sasuke in the more advanced techniques with his chokuto. Speaking of the blade, he'd have to sharpen it soon. The edge was beginning to dull from all the use it had seen.

"Yes," Sasuke muttered to himself. "This month will be a good month."

* * *

><p><em>It's not hard to pump out chapter day after day when you've already got all of them written. I've enjoyed going back and giving this story the proper care it needed, though. A quick spoiler to the length of Fuujin: it's not exactly a long fic. The original purpose was to gradually ramp up the length in each part of the series until Suijin became epic in length. Fuujin itself will only have seven to eight chapters, depending on how I feel. There's also a chance I might do a short omake at the end of the story. Just for Kicks. =) Anyways, leave me sexy sweet reviews! And please, don't go easy on me. I can take criticism like the best of them. -Hangovergoblin<em>


	6. Chapter VI

_Fuujin_

_Chapter VI_

_Here's chapter six, guys. I've decided that even if I don't get a shit ton of reviews (getting them is still excellent), I'm just gonna shut my mouth and keep working on the series. Hopefully I won't burn out of steam and actually complete the whole thing this time, but who knows. I'm doing a double post today; you guys get five AND six. Have fun! -Hangovergoblin_

* * *

><p>Thousands of tiny sonic booms ripped through the air as Naruto super-expanded the air molecules in the Sanctum.<p>

The sound was so intense, the teen had to cover his ears even as he began to speed the explosions up, heightening the explosion rate to a blistering two hundred sonic booms per-second. Kaze stood to one side, clapping, although the sound was too small to be heard amidst the millions of sound points. Naruto could see him, though, and it was enough praise to make him try even harder. He focused a little more, and was pleased to see a rate-hike of one hundred more explosions every second.

Kaze was immensely proud of his master, and showed it through his smiles, vocal approval of Naruto's abilites, and all the kind words he had in his extensive vocabulary. Once more, he was astounded by the teen's progress. A month and a half ago, the whiskered genin could only push wind around and now he was forcing apart air _molecules. _It would have taken a normal Jin at least twenty years of practice in a monastery to achieve that kind of control. This was proof that Naruto was indeed a prodigy, like Kaze had secretly suspected. The teen merely needed to be shown what he was talented in, and his growth-rate accelerated by factors of ten.

The teen smiled as he uncovered his ears, even as the sonic booms sounded all around the chamber. The roar was deafening, but Naruto seemed unfazed, leaving Kaze quite confused as to how the boy could do such a thing. Kaze thought hard, and came to a stunning conclusion. The teen had constructed a dampener in his ear from the air in his ear canal, and used it to dampen the sound. The air would have to have multiple dense and less dense areas for that to be effective, though. Driven to another astonishing conclusion in the same moment, Kaze realized the boy's control was far greater than he expected. Even greater than a few moments ago when he had derived his own estimate of the teen's abilities.

The boy's ability level jumped another ten normal Jin years.

That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Kaze's jaw dropped, and his white, Hyuuga-like eyes widened. No longer a prodigy, the boy (if he had been a truly normal Jin) was now near the level of his former master, and Kaze had only shown Naruto half the scrolls on the shelf. The teen was already a truly dangerous wind user. With the rest of the scrolls to be learned, Kaze was certain the boy could have near complete mastery of the Wind Element.

Kaze shook his head. Maybe he was over-gaging the abilities of the child. Maybe it was all in his head. Maybe... Maybe the child was just growing at this rate because...

No. Kaze shook his head to rid the previous thoughts from his mind. The child w_as _nearly the level of a dedicated Temple Master. Even as he thought, the boy experienced another rate-hike of one hundred explosions per-second, bringing the grand total to four hundred every second.

Kaze raised a pale hand and Naruto slowed the explosions to a stop, but not before condensing all the air in front of him into a singlularity. Kaze shook his head, eyes wide, but Naruto did not heed him. The boy released the singularity, and all of the air molecules ultra-expanded, ushering in an enormous sonic boom. Naruto, who hadn't thought of the consequences, fell to the ground, clutching his ears. The explosion had ruptured both of his eardrums, and blood gushed from the wounds freely.

Kaze moved to help him, but was waved off by Naruto, who was already standing up. Such an act would have been nigh impossible, had it not been for the Fox's healing factor.

Just as the teen regained his balance, a faint rumble made its way through the floor, causing the whiskered genin to lose his balance once more. He fell to his knees, and along with Kaze, watched in curiosity.

The dais in the middle of the sanctum was beginning to rise.

The sound of stone grinding against stone could be heard as the marble of the dais ended, and was replaced with a rough beige granite. Carved into the middle of this granite was an archway, intricately decorated like the entrance to the Sanctum. Small torches lit themselves inside, revealing a narrow, winding staircase.

Naruto and Kaze looked at each other, eyebrows raised. Without saying a word, Naruto got to his feet, and stepped through the arch.

"Wow," Naruto breathed, as the pair stepped from the stairway, and into a monstrous cavern. They had descended around seven hundred feet into the earth, if the measurement of the individual stairs' height was any indication. Kaze looked on in wonder, too. The cavern was a gaping maw, with a perfectly smooth dome roof, and a peculiarly rough floor. Naruto could make out another, smaller dais in the center, around a hundred feet away. They both took a step forward, and were startled when the cavern exploded with light.

When their eyes became accustomed to the light, Naruto and Kaze both gasped.

Above them, approximately thirty degrees up on the domed ceiling, was a miniature of the sun, bathing the whole room with light. They could see the small, jerking motion the sun made, as it ascended slowly toward the apex of the room.

On the floor, the peculiar roughness was now thrown into the light, and revealed a miniature of the _entire _continent, with small marbles inlaid in a random pattern around the land. Naruto realized with a start what this room was. It was a map room. Every feature he had ever seen on a geographical map of the Shinobi Continent was laid out here, including the deserts of Suna, the forests of Konoha, and the rock fields of Iwa.

A small white marble marked their spot in the Suna desert, and from what Naruto could see, marbles of different colors were set over the map, but a great deal of them had been lost through time, leaving only five, including the one he was currently occupying.

One was red, another was blue, one was brown, and the only one besides his white marble was yellow. The pair could only guess that these were Temples of other Jin that hadn't been lost.

"So what exactly is this, Kaze?" Naruto inquired. His eyes roved over the room again, searching for something else interesting.

"Kaze...?"

The teen looked over to find his silver-haired companion gazing at the dais intently. "What are you looking at?" he asked, moving to catch a glimpse of whatever had Kaze's attention in such a firm hold.

In the middle of the dais was a katana, impaled upon the great circular stone so smoothly, one could mistake it as part of the stone itself.

_**"I don't believe it..." **_Naruto could hear Kaze muttering under his breath. _**"He knew about it... He knew it was here."**_

"What?" The teen cocked his head. "What are you talking about?"

Kaze turned to him with remarkably serious eyes.

_**"The Byakaze... The most famous katana in Fuujin history."**_

Naruto tested the word in his mouth, even as Kaze went into lecture mode.

_**"The Byakaze was forged many thousands of years ago, when the Jin had first been created. Every few generations, there would be a supremely gifted Jin in each of the elements. The first Master created this blade with all of his skill in metalworking and Wind Manipulation. The result was a supremely sharp blade that could also channel wind chakra. The result...," **_he trailed off, pointing to the blade. _**"Was Byakaze, the White Wind. A testament to the first generation of Jins' power."**_

Naruto's mouth was agape with awe. To have created such a blade... It was a feat that could not be matched in today's time.

"I want it."

Kaze turned back with barely concealed amusement. _**"Impossible," **_the wind manifestation said. _**"It is surrounded by a field of super sharp wind blades, and is set halfway into the stone. I'd like to see the Kyuubi himself pull the blade out of its protective field." **_

Naruto was not listening, however. He was pulling on a pair of gloves he had brought along with him. "I can do it," he said, fires of calm determination burning in his eyes. Kaze scoffed.

_**"Your fingers would be torn off before you even clutched the hilt, Master. Do not attempt it."**_

The teen leveled a smoldering glare toward his companion. "Have some faith, Kaze."

Naruto activated the Fuujin, and surveyed the blade.

Kaze was right. It was surrounded by an extremely strong and particularly vicious cyclone of wind. He could practically see the blades twisting in their tight arcs.

For a moment, he asked himself: "Can I really do this?" He held his hands up to his face. The dull shine of worn leather reflected in his eyes. He took one last glance at the hilt of Byakaze, then to his hands, and shrugged.

The whiskered genin kneeled on the dais and began to focus all of his manipulative skills into creating a shield for his hand. He could see the blue building up over his digits as his own wind-field began to generate more power, more blades to cause interference. He sat there for what felt like an hour, preparing for what was to be one of his greatest triumphs in life. Or failures.

* * *

><p>Sasuke blocked a vicious kick from Lee, and ducked under Maito Gai's fist. Twirling gracefully, he unsheathed his chokuto and blocked Lee's second kick.<p>

They had been sparring for around an hour now, and Sasuke was already close to keeling over from exhaustion. He knew about and had seen Gai and Lee's training regimen, and it was no short wonder that they looked about as fresh as a spring morning.

It made him sick.

He spun to a stop and leveled the chokuto toward Lee, and disappeared.

Sasuke felt himself re-enter normal time as the Shunshin was completed to find himself above Lee's head. The bowl-haired genin obviously hadn't sensed him, otherwise, he'd move. Sasuke smirked. Perfect for a strike.

He swung diagonally, only to slice through thin air.

Landing gracefully, he quickly switched his place with a log that was soon after splintered to pieces by Gai's punch.

He perched himself in a tree and waited.

Fooling Lee was moderately difficult, even if he couldn't use chakra, but Gai was on a whole different playing field. The man was twice as strong as Lee, and _still _could use chakra, which made him a fierce opponent. Sasuke knew that he only had a few moments before they caught on, and then... Then they'd fight even harder.

The teen made his patented 'Hn' sound of annoyance and leapt from the branch, even as it was destroyed by a chakra powered fist.

Landing once more on solid earth, he spun to meet his attackers. Lee and Gai were both bearing down on him from each side.

Sasuke activated his sharingan and went to work.

Lee threw the first kick, aiming for Sasuke's head for a knockout. The Uchiha threw an arm up to intercept the kick, strengthening the limb with chakra as he swung his sword arm around.

Sasuke was overjoyed to find that he had actually caught Lee in the chest, if only with the flat of his blade. The blow still managed to knock the Taijutsu prodigy away, though.

Gai was on him, fast, too, and Sasuke had to sacrifice his body just to catch Lee with his blade.

The punch hit him like a steamroller, and knocked him flat on his back... Forty feet away.

Stars blotted his vision as he reeled from the blow. When he opened his eyes, he expected to see a blob of green bearing down on him, but instead, he got a faceful of pink.

'Sakura.. What is she doing here?' he asked himself, slurring the words mentally, almost as if he'd been punched in the mind and the body.

Groaning, he sat up to find her talking to the dynamic duo in green, with the two beasts nodding at various intervals.

"So long, my love! Return to me soon!"

This time Sasuke groaned out of annoyance more so than pain, because he knew exactly who was yelling, and who the yelling was directed toward.

As his eyes cleared, he saw Sakura returning to him, rolling her eyes and muttering under her breath.

"What's eating you?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura merely shook her head. "Let's go," she commanded.

The two left toward Konoha, where Sasuke was told Kakashi was waiting for them.

* * *

><p>Naruto roared in pain and exertion as he pulled on the hilt of Byakaze, desperate to dislodge it from its stone. The blade hadn't given a single inch in the past hour, and the pain was so intense, Naruto was contemplating giving up. He steeled himself. An Uzumaki never gave up!<p>

Tears pooled in his eyes as Byakaze's windfield tore at his hand, having long since ripped his gloves to shreds. The leather could still be seen lying on the ground around the blade. Kaze was merely watching, astonished, as his master continued to torture himself with the task of removing the blade.

The Fuujin windmill whirled in his eyes faster than ever before as he yanked desperately on the hilt of the legendary blade. He could feel it in his heart, that this blade had been crafted for him, and only him, to serve some higher purpose.

Kaze looked on, still amazed that his master would try something so... Foolish, and expect to come away with what he wanted. No person, Jin or Human, could wield this blade beside the one that created it. They didn't have the raw power to manipulate the blade properly.

And then, it moved.

Kaze squinted, because he knew it was an impossibility, but yet, it was happening in front of his eyes. The blade jerked a little more in its stone.

Kaze looked up at his master. The pain and the joy apparent in his eyes as he realized what he was doing. He was actually pulling the blade from its resting place. He was going to do it!

_**"The eyes...," **_Kaze muttered, mouth agape at the sight of Naruto's eyes. A fourth blade for the windmill had appeared, forcing the others to slide within Naruto's eye to make room for the new addition.

With a final heave from Naruto, the blade practically exploded from its sheath, releasing hurricane winds throughout the cavern. Even the sun flickered in the artificial sky as the space became saturated with air-chakra. The explosion knocked both of the companions flat on their backs, but Naruto clutched Byakaze in his fist triumphantly. He had done it. He had done the impossible. Uzumaki Naruto had pulled the sword from the stone.

* * *

><p>"I've nominated Team 7 to compete in the Chuunin Exams in three months, in Kusa," Kakashi stated lazily.<p>

He had gathered Sasuke and Sakura in a small bar frequented by most of Konoha's jounin. It was a seedy little establishment, but they had, as Sasuke put it, 'damned good tea.' He much rather preferred staying there than any of the other restaurants in town, because he still had a fan club that he just couldn't get rid of. They were still loyal to him, even after his attempted defection and resulting asskicking.

Sasuke sighed. "Fangirls..."

"But sensei, we only have two people on our team," Sakura said, eyebrow quirked.

Sasuke just stared contentedly at the bottom of his empty cup. Kakashi never did anything stupid, he was loathe to admit, no matter on the battlefield or in everyday life. Sasuke knew Kakashi had already thought of that.

"No," Kakashi said, leaning comfortably back into his chair. "We have three people. Or did you forget Naruto?"

Sasuke looked up at his sensei, that damnable expression on his face apathetical and uncaring, even in the middle of the day. It made Sasuke angry just looking at it.

"N-no," Sakura stuttered. "I just thought he couldn't make it. He's on the training mission and-"

"And Hokage-sama can pull whatever strings needed to make sure he gets there. We've already discussed it. She's not letting him miss it."

"Good," Sasuke uttered the first words he had spoken since arriving at the bar. "I wouldn't want to participate without him."

"Good," Kakashi echoed. "You have two months to prepare. We leave then. You're dismissed."

Sakura and Sasuke both stood up and promptly left the bar, opting to walk around Konoha for a while instead of leaving for their houses. They walked in comfortable silence for a long while, enjoying each other's company and the sounds of Konoha at night.

Sakura was the first to speak up.

"How much do you think Naruto's changed in the past six months, Sasuke?" She looked his way, and managed to catch a small spark of excitement in his eyes before they blanked themselves out.

"I don't know," Sasuke said, matter-of-factly. "I'm sure he hasn't changed _that _much. He's Naruto, after all."

Sasuke admitted secretly to himself that he sounded like a complete douchebag when he talked like that.

"Well I think he's probably changed a lot, Sasuke. He's probably grown," she said, her voice hopeful. She was more than a little excited to see the teen. Sakura had missed him quite dearly in his absence, even going so far as to making a little scrapbook with all their team pictures in an effort to comfort herself.

Sasuke shrugged.

"You're probably right," he admitted. "Naruto does have a penchant for adaptation. I want to see it again."

Sakura nodded, smiling.

"I miss him, Sasuke. Do you?"

It was a long time until he answered, with only the trees blowing and the crickets chirping to fill the void of sound as Sakura waited.

"Yes," he finally answered, turning to Sakura. "I do."

* * *

><p>Two weeks later...<p>

_"Today is the day, Master. Your sensei should be arriving soon." _

Kaze stood, leaning on the wall and munching happily on a loaf of bread as Naruto swung his newly acquired weapon around.

"I know," the blond said, weapon singing as the monomolecular blade cut through the air. Whenever he made a particularly fast swing, the blade would crack like a whip, causing him to smile delightedly. "I wonder what the pervert did while he was in Suna. Probably gambled my money away with some hooker on his arm." Naruto smiled, even though he didn't particularly like the thought of a flat Gama-chan. He was just happy he was about to see his sensei again after such a long time by himself. He was desperate to show the old man what he knew and had learned.

The scrolls that had occupied the shelf now layed on the floor in a haphazard pile. Naruto had sped through each one faster than the last, and had totally completed them within a week's time. Now, all that was left to do was practice, and practice he did. His last week in the Sanctum of the Wind was spent going through the every exercise he had learned over and over until his whole body was sore. He had elected to use the final day as one to rest up. He wasn't sure what Jiraiya wanted him to do next, but he was sure it would be pretty brutal. The pervert did not take training lightly at all.

The teen's ears perked up as he heard his name called faintly.

"So he's here... Let's go, Kaze!" He waved the manifestation over, shook his hand, and walked out of the arched doorway of the Sanctum into the hot desert sun. As he stepped from the last stair, he deactivated the Fuujin and looked back, only to see absolutely nothing but desert sands stretching endlessly before him. Jiraiya was waiting right where he'd said he would. The pervert's great outlandish outfit was like a beacon in the desert, and shone brightly as he threw a scroll to Naruto. The teen caught it deftly and unrolled it.

"Learn it," Jiraiya said, grinning. "You wouldn't believe all the things I had to give in the deal for that scroll."

Naruto nearly lost grip of the parchment when he read the title. It had only one word written at the top, and then a description at the bottom, with a small picture showing the completed technique. He didn't need the picture. He had seen the technique many times before. It was the one that had nearly killed him in the Valley of the End. The scroll's one word was written in bold, black print.

"Chidori."

* * *

><p><em>If you're wondering why exactly Naruto was given Kakashi's most prized technique, you'll find an explanation in the next chapter. All the details are more or less worked out, so I don't want to hear any complaining. =) And no, before anyone asks, Sasuke will not learn the Rasengan. He gets his own little gift next chapter; one that is well known, but I had to do a little modification to the object itself to fit the story line. Also, if you're wondering whatever happened to Sasuke's curse seal, that will be explained next chapter, as well. I realized I had left that little part out in the original, so you'll get a flashback explaining what the deal was. Hope you enjoy! -Hangovergoblin<em>


	7. Chapter VII

_Fuujin_

_Chapter VII_

_Well, you've made it to the last chapter of Fuujin, the prologue-in-effect for the remaining three books in the series. Friends who became enemies became friends again, there's an underlying romance brewing, Naruto's gotten stronger, and he's learning the masterful use of his doujutsu. Maybe you've fallen in love with this story, and if you have, I strongly encourage you to read Raijin when it's posted in the next few days. Alls I can say is... I need reviews. =) Good day, everyone! -Hangovergoblin P.S.: Stay tuned for an indepth author's note about some of the concepts in the series at the bottom!_

* * *

><p>"So how exactly did you get Kakashi-sensei to send you this?"<p>

Naruto gazed across the table, watching his other sensei's particularly good poker face. The man, even as old as he was, was still a crafty one, even half drunk. Naruto had expected the man to drink his heart's content while he was training in the Sanctum. It looked like he was wrong as Jiraiya downed another saucer of sake.

"Well...," Jiraiya said, smiling through a hiccup. "Your sensei has his ways."

Naruto made a sound of annoyance, something akin to Sasuke's patented 'Hn.' Rolling his eyes, he looked away and muttered, "That doesn't help at all."

Jiraiya just grinned. "Yeah," said the old man, "It does, considering I had to promise him the first issue of my two new books. As in, the first ones off the printing press." He hiccupped again, proving the fact that he was a little tipsy.

The bar they were in was frequented by the Suna Jounin, much like the one Kakashi visited back home, just as seedy and filled with the heavy atmosphere one feels in a smoking room. From through the curtain in the door of the establishment, Naruto could make out the high-heeled feet of heavily perfumed nightwalkers, and the red light of Suna's most infamous district. He had originally protested coming to such an establishment, but he realized that one day, no matter how hard he tried, he would most likely be one of the people in this room, sharing war stories and past experiences.

"Figures," the teen muttered, fingering the hilt of Byakaze, which was strapped tightly behind his waist. The hilt hummed pleasantly under his touch, almost as if purring like a cat being stroked.

"Kakashi wouldn't have given me the technique if it hadn't been for those books."

He watched Jiraiya shake his head.

"No," the old man said. "Kakashi has been feeling guilty all this time for neglecting your training during the Chuunin Exams. He's doing this to show you he still cares." He sat back in the chair and waved a waitress over.

"Besides," he continued as the woman hastily picked up the bottle and saucer, "I'm sure you want to learn it, don't you?"

Before Naruto could answer, Jiraiya turned to the waitress, whispered a few things in her ear and gave her a slap on the butt. She quickly walked off, blushing and giggling. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Yeah," the teen said. "I do... But it still doesn't make up for the training I wanted him to help me with."

He looked off into space, wistfully, but upon realizing he had dropped his little mask, he grinned.

"I can't wait to kick Sasuke's ass with it!"

The waitress returned, bearing a platter of fried rice and stir-fried vegetables. She winked naughtily at Jiraiya and went back to her rounds, taking orders and delivering drinks. The old man returned her wink with one of his own, and began piling food onto his plate. Naruto wrinkled his nose. The man ate like a baboon. He couldn't really say anything, though, considering the way he dove into any ramen put before him.

"So where are we going next, Ero-Sennin?"

The toad sage began to talk through his food, giving Naruto glimpses of the half-masticated morsels within the pervert's mouth.

"Ooh half tha chewning eksams in a coupla monfs."

Naruto quirked an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

The super pervert swallowed his food and spoke more coherently.

"I said you have the Chuunin Exams in a few months."

Naruto immediately perked up. The Chuunin Exams meant he could see his friends again!

"Wait..." Naruto cocked his head to the side. "Who am I supposed to team up with?"

This is the part where Jiraiya grinned, knowing he was about to make the kid's day.

"Team 7."

* * *

><p>Sakura dodged Ino's punch, quickly sidestepping it and returning a punch into Ino's side. The blond girl was knocked onto her side, just as Chouji barreled toward the two girls, intent on smacking Sakura into tomorrow. The pinkette coiled her legs and jumped, clearing the charging boy by an easy five feet. Landing in a crouch, she rolled to the side just in time to dodge one of Shikamaru's shadow tentacles. While the young man had improved his shadow control even further, it was no match for Sakura's newly acquired speed and grace, served special courtesy of Lee and Maito Gai.<p>

Her intensive training was paying off. Still the most lacking in physical strength on Team 7, she made up for it with her lightning-quick reflexes and speed.

Ino came at her again, but was thwarted by a roundhouse to the chest. The girl glared at her opponent as she flew back into Shikamaru, who had been steadily advancing. Once more, Chouji was close, but the boy relied too much on power and not enough on strength. Sakura easily avoided the charge.

Back flipping, she kicked off the earth hard in an effort to clear the battleground and into the trees. She was rewarded for her efforts, landing gracefully on a thin bough. Once more, her physical lightness came in handy as she traversed the upper spires of the huge Konoha trees bordering the training ground. She knew she had to step lightly, anyway, to avoid Shikamaru's shadow. At least, in the midday sun, the shadow was at its smallest in the tops of the trees. She grinned as she made a sudden change in direction, backflipping off the highest tree around the perimeter,

She had always wondered what flying was like, and this was about as close to flight as one could get without having wings.

From her thigh pouch, she grabbed three shuriken and flung them with her right hand, while using her left to throw several kunai right behind them. Her aim was so precise, the shuriken landed in the dirt and deflected each of the kunai in different directions. flipping once more and landing upright on the ground, she called, grinning, "I win."

The others grumbled about how she had cheated by hiding, and how she had ripped their shirts. Sure enough, every one of their shirts had an identical rip mark where the kunai had grazed them. Sakura waved to them as she walked off from the sparring match, calling her thanks to each of them as she made her way back to Konoha. Team 7 had a mission later that night to destroy a bandit camp in eastern Fire country, and she had to pack.

Making her way to her house, she walked the streets of Konoha lazily, without any particular care for time or place, as long as she got home. She listened and watched as the people of the Village went back and forth, completing their daily tasks, taking their children to and from the Academy, cooking; all the things that made her village like any other, but at the same time, made all the difference. This was home, no matter which way you spun it.

But home was very lonely when you didn't have the person you cared for most with you.

Sakura sighed heavily at the thought of Uzumaki Naruto, third genin of Cell 7, and possibly her best friend. She had missed him terribly when he had left without telling anyone, but as time went by, she realized he had left a void in her heart when he left, and he was the only one who could fill it. She wasn't sure if this need was sisterly, friendly, or something else altogether, but she knew it hurt inside knowing he wasn't around.

She closed her eyes as she walked, taking a deep sniff of the air around Ichiraku as she passed. This was what Naruto smelled like. Like ramen, thunderstorms, and the smell of something sweet burning. Smiling, she made her way past another of Naruto's favorite stops. It was a weapon shop owned by Tenten's father; the only weapon shop that allowed him to buy anything at a normal rate. As she passed, she could almost see him window-shopping the kunai in the storefront, practically drooling at all of the exotic weaponry Tenten's family had amassed.

Sakura sighed again. She really missed the blond boy-wonder and his antics.

As she approached her house, she fumbled with the keys a bit before selecting the right one. Had she not had to look down to find the right one, she would have missed the small envelope lying on her front porch. Bending down to pick it up, she stopped when she saw the name and where it was from. Naruto was in Suna!

She snatched the envelope up and ran inside, leaving her keys in the door in her haste to read the letter. She didn't even bother to shut her door, either. Nothing mattered except the brown parchment in her hand. Grabbing a kunai from her pouch, she slashed it open and read it.

_Dear Sakura_

_I've really missed you guys over the past few months. I'm sorry I wasn't able to say goodbye. I'm in Suna for the next months, so if you want to respond, you know where I am. Jiraiya-sensei told me I'm competing in the Chuunin exams with you guys. I can't wait! Train hard, Sakura, and make sure Sasuke does, too!_

_P.S. I miss you the most._

_-Naruto_

Sakura read the last line over and over, unwilling to believe what it said. After a few moments, she furrowed her eyebrows. Hadn't he been telling her things like this since they were little? Hadn't he frequently asked her out on dates only for her to reject him? She shook her head in disbelief. Had she merely been so engrossed in Sasuke that she didn't pay any attention to the whiskered genin, or had she just ignored him totally, as if he were a lost puppy?

She realized, to her horror, that she could have treated him better. Way better.

She shook her head. That couldn't be helped now. All she could do was try and make it up to him in some form or fashion. She smiled. That's what she would do. She'd take him out on a date. Shuffling to her door, she closed it and walked to the bathroom. She was sweaty and needed a good soak.

* * *

><p>"Alright kid. You gotta remember, this is an extremely dangerous technique, like the Rasengan."<p>

Naruto waved the pervert off with a dismissive gesture. "Yeah, yeah, I got it," the blond said, stepping to the edge of the roof. He'd seen Sasuke perform this technique, and it obviously needed a lot of speed. He just wondered if his Fuujin would allow him to create the technique, due to its other elemental-limiting effects. Jiraiya had reassured him that Chidori had nothing to do with elemental manipulation, only the conversion of chakra into another form of energy.

The pervert folded his arms, hmph-ed, and looked away, pouting childishly.

Naruto, on the other hand, concentrated on the task before him. Running through the handseals steadily, he braced his wrist with his hand like Kakashi and Sasuke had done, and... A tiny blue spark popped in his hand, singeing the skin. It immediately grew back, but Naruto yelped in pain, anyway. Just because his body healed quickly didn't mean he was immune to pain, no matter how little. The blond shook his head to clear it, and went through the handseals again, only to have the same spark appear and burn his hand.

"Ever consider the fact that you might need to work on your control before using this jutsu?" Jiraiya inquired with a sarcastic tone. Naruto glared at him from the side of his blue and black eyes as he tried the technique again, only to fail.

"I'm not the teacher here," Naruto snapped as he yanked off his jacket angrily and threw it to the side. "Work on my control," he grumbled, running through the handseals again. He could already tell this was going to be one of those rare techniques he had a hard time mastering. He needed Kakashi here to help him with the Chidori. After all, it was the Jounin's only original jutsu, and was possibly the most powerful assassination attack in the world, Rasengan notwithstanding.

His next attempt was a little more successful as he lessened the flow of chakra into his arm. The scroll had said specifically to find the amount that seemed the most appropriate for the jutsu, and to not force the chakra that was flowing. Kakashi had also written in the margins that the amount of chakra the technique used to keep itself alive would increase at a small but steady rate while it was active, and increase in power as the chakra consumption increased.

As the day progressed, Naruto had to remove the layers he had constantly worn throughout the desert. Here in Sunagakure, the dust was oddly peaceful most of the time, and didn't block the sun's rays like out in the desert. The nights here were warmer, but the days were ridiculously hot. Taking off the black shirt he wore underneath his Anbu armor, he was now naked from the waist up, save for a very prominent shikifuujin on his stomach. One would be hard-pressed to tell if this thirteen year old was exactly that, or someone older, because under the shirts and armor, there was now a tanned, muscular body, defining itself with lean muscles and hard, sharp angles.

Bracing his wrist once more, he took another go at the Chidori, and failed.

* * *

><p>The final sparring match between Team 7 and Kakashi had just commenced, and they soon realized that no matter how much training they had done in the past few months, Kakashi was still leagues ahead of them in skill, strength, and just about every other aspect a shinobi prided himself with. The man was truly the genius he had been made out to be by the Jounin elite of Konoha, and showed it proudly, if a little apathetically.<p>

His blocks were perfect, yet he showed no hint of exertion or panic, even as Sasuke slashed with lightning fast ferocity at him with his chokuto. Kakashi easily ducked under the spinning back kick Sakura had aimed at his head, and with a lazy motion of his wrist, swatted her away, even as he dodged another of Sasuke's strikes. Even without his Sharingan, Kakashi could easily see the glare etched onto Sasuke's face. The glare of someone who knew they were outclassed beyond any form of measure.

Taking a desperate swing, Sasuke actually managed to land a hit, only for the Kage Bunshin to poof away.

The Uchiha swore under his breath as he jumped back to avoid the volley of shuriken Kakashi had thrown his way from the tree line. Luckily, Sakura was already upon the Jounin, kicking and punching as fast as she could to buy some time. Their teamwork had improved so much since the Chuunin exam, looking more like a squad of Anbu veterans than genin a little over a year out of the academy. Kakashi had also mentioned this fact, praising every time they did something particularly well.

Sasuke activated his Sharingan and the world slowed down to a crawl in front of him as he dashed across the clearing, desperate to get anything on Kakashi. He could see the man turn in slow motion, catching Sasuke's own eyes, even in normal time. Sasuke swore inwardly as he realized that the man was actually far more than his other comrades made him out to be. Kakashi was the best shinobi in Konoha at the time, if one didn't count Tsunade, and both Sasuke and Sakura could see it in every move, every small motion. Kakashi was less like a human and more like a ghost, the perfect example of a true shinobi. The shadow that hides in the darkness. Sasuke had often wondered in his free time, if Kakashi was that able, that powerful, what would the Sannin be like. What would Itachi be like? This was when Sasuke would drop into despair and realize that he may never have the potential to live up to his brother or Orochimaru or any of the hundreds of others that were labeled great shinobi.

That was before he had the Mangekyou. Now he knew he had the potential.

Kakashi spun toward Sasuke and flung a kunai faster than Sasuke had ever seen one thrown. It was still slow enough to track with his Sharingan, but at the same time, Sasuke had to wonder if that was Kakashi's muscles doing the work, or chakra.

The black haired teen raised the fingers of his left hand into a half-ram seal, turned them, and in a show of pure accuracy and timing, caught the blade harmlessly and flicked it away in the same motion. Sasuke thought Kakashi's eyes would widen, but he was wrong. The man just continued on without a single hint that Sasuke had done anything impressive. The Uchiha scowled as he brought his blade to bear in his charge, and jumped into the fray.

Sakura, as if on cue, immediately backed out of the fight and went into support mode, flinging kunai and shuriken whenever she got a clear shot. She was used to letting Sasuke do the close-up work, because that's what he preferred. She was more of a ranged shinobi, relying on her aim, speed, and agility to do the work. This fight was more between Sasuke and Kakashi than her, anyway. She could never really understand what had changed between the two over the past few months, but something was there that wasn't present before. It was almost as if Sasuke had taken Kakashi as a father figure, and was doing his best to please the man like a small child would try to please its parents. It was very sweet and endearing, but when Kakashi didn't show any sort of praise, Sakura could make out the silent brooding once more in Sasuke, a trait they had pulled him more or less out of over the past few months.

Sasuke took a step back as Kakashi took a step forward and delivered a crushing blow to Sasuke's chokuto with a kunai. Sasuke's eyes widened as his Sharingan caught a flash of silver as a chunk of the blade was ripped out. A stabbing pain made itself known in his chest. Kakashi had kicked him in the sternum, hard, and Sasuke felt blood rise in his throat as he crashed through the trees. Coughing the crimson out of his lungs, he stabbed the blade into the ground and used it as a fulcrum to shift his flight. He landed gracefully on the trunk of a tree, using his chakra to stick, and leapt back toward his Jounin sensei.

Kakashi raised his arms in a cross block, blocking Sasuke's return kick. Using his arms as a spring, the Cyclops pushed Sasuke back into the air. He followed soon after, powerful legs uncoiling as he shot into Sasuke's path. The teen could do nothing as Kakashi spun him around and hurled him back to the earth besides pray he didn't break anything. Knowing Kakashi, he probably threw him at the perfect angle to avoid damage, but to cause as much pain as possible.

'Damn him,' Sasuke thought as he landed on the hard earth. The ground cratered a tiny bit around him. Groaning, he sat up to find Kakashi standing over him, looking down on him with that same, accursed, terribly lazy gaze.

"Good job, Sasuke, Sakura. You managed to make me sweat a single drop."

Both teens had a sweat drop of their own as Kakashi sat down, cross-legged, in front of the furiously muttering Sasuke. The Cyclops pointed to a small patch on Sasuke's white shirt, which had been colored a deep brown from all the dirt he had just crushed into.

"You've got white on you."

Sasuke scowled heavily, pouting in a very Naruto-ish way. "Shut up, Kakashi-sensei."

The Jounin just shrugged as Sakura sat down beside them. "So... I just wanted to congratulate you guys on the improvement you've made. You've met my standards... And exceeded them." Kakashi smiled as Sasuke and Sakura grinned.

"You guys have been my first team, and I doubt that any other team after you will make me as proud as you have. I'm not good with words," He said, petering off, "but for what it's worth, and for all the times I haven't been there for you, Sakura, and for Naruto, I just want you guys to know that I'm here now, whenever you need me."

Sakura nodded and Sasuke merely looked on.

Kakashi continued. "Which is why I got you this, Sasuke."

The man somehow produced an elegant wooden box from behind his back, around four and half feet long. "And for you, Sakura," he said, pulling a pair of chakra weights from the same, mysterious place he had pulled the box.

"These items are very important to me, for extremely different reasons. But I've found that other than sentimental value, I have little use for them now. I know that you guys will make the best of them, though."

Sakura looked over the small black weights, which had intricate seals painted all over them.

"Those were my first chakra weights I ever got. They were a gift from my father for me graduating the Academy. They still work perfectly, and can increase in weight to around half a ton." Sakura ran her hand over the tarnished leather, having lost its shine long ago. Her face split into a huge grin. Jumping up, she hugged Kakashi around the neck.

"Thank you!"

Kakashi merely smiled. He was waiting for Sasuke to open his gift.

Sasuke took the edges of the wooden box, which had the kanji for 'Wolf' inscribed on it, and pulled it open, revealing what he could call the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. In the box laid a katana, beautifully polished, with a black hilt wrapped in white silk. Sasuke knew what it was from the very moment he saw the blade from under the packaging. This was Kakashi's most prized possession, even more precious to the man than the Icha-Icha series.

Hatake Kakashi had just passed on the White Fang onto Uchiha Sasuke, last loyal Uchiha to Konoha.

For the first time since Sasuke had killed Naruto, he cried.

* * *

><p><em>To fictionlover27713: In response to your review, because I love good reviews with questions and what not, here are a few answers! The definition of Jin is that of a sub-race of humans with the extreme ability to bend the elements to their will. They develop a sort of relationship with that particular element, as exemplified by Kaze and Naruto's relationship. Kaze is a manifestation of Naruto's ability to control wind; therefore, he becomes a part of Naruto. In this way, Naruto is part of the wind and vice-versa. To your next question about Sasuke: People are so helplessly endeared to the idea of the Last Uchiha, they can forgive even his greatest mistakes. This is why Itachi is so hated by the people of Konoha and Sasuke is so loved. Itachi murdered everyone but Sasuke, so he became a pariah. Sasuke is viewed as the last of a great dynasty; therefore he is given special consideration by the civilian and ninja community.<em>

_As for Naruto's new look, no, I would not consider it the 'Rokudaime Naruto' look, but I would offer you an easier image. Think Naruto in Anbu gear, with an orange trench coat. Also, thank you for the compliment on the backstory. Many stories I've read are bogged down with too much description, or have too little. I've seen a great deal where Naruto is just 'given' a shit ton of power with no real backstory or lead-up to how he got it. With the idea that Naruto is part of an ancient race of humans, I've given myself an out to that problem. _

_To of Michigan: As for why the next book in the series is called 'Raijin', that is a very good question. My only response to that is that you'll have to read to find out. Don't get it twisted, though. Naruto cannot be considered a 'genius' in the sense that he can just 'learn' these abilities. They are not something that can be 'learned' insofar as they are a part of him. Every Jin would have been able to use their Doujutsu to a certain extent; the fact that they are inherent in every Jin just means Naruto has a talent for the manipulation of the element he's a part of._

_Now, for my actual author's note._

_I'm not entirely sure if I should end Fuujin with this last chapter, but Raijin starts very soon after these last events in Fuujin. Maybe, if I'm persuaded, I could give another chapter of gratuitous fight scenes, or maybe a little foreshadowing to what happens in Raijin. You have one day after I post this to let me know what the deal is, otherwise, I'll start focusing on fixing Raijin, and its eventual continuation. Thanks! -Hangovergoblin_


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